FIFA Peace Prize Controversy: Norway FA Chief Slams Trump Award, Wants Ban

Lise Klaveness says Norway’s FA will support FairSquare’s call 

Norwegian FA President Lise Klaveness says FIFA should drop its peace prize after Trump award, arguing such honors belong to the Nobel Institute in Oslo.

Norway FA chief Lise Klaveness urged FIFA to abolish its peace prize, saying the Trump award breached political impartiality...

FIFA should drop its peace prize to stay out of politics, Norwegian Football Association President Lise Klaveness said Monday. She argued that such honors should be left to the Nobel Institute in Oslo.

Under Gianni Infantino, world soccer’s governing body drew criticism for giving its first peace prize to US President Donald Trump in December during the 2026 World Cup draw.

Many viewed FIFA’s peace award as a consolation prize for Trump, who has repeatedly said he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize and whose country will co-host this year’s World Cup with Canada and Mexico.

“We (the NFF) want to see it (the FIFA peace prize) abolished. We don't think it's part of FIFA's mandate to give such a prize, we think we have a Nobel Institute that does that job independently already,” Klaveness told an online ⁠press briefing.

“We think it's important for football federations, confederations and also FIFA to try to avoid situations where this arm's-length distance to state leaders is challenged, and these prizes will typically be very ‌political if you don't have real good instruments and experience to make them independent, with juries and criteria, etc.

“That is full-time work, it's so sensitive, I think from a resource angle, from a mandate angle, but most importantly from a governance angle, I think it should be avoided also in the future,“ she said.

The 45-year-old lawyer said the NFF board would send a letter backing calls for an investigation into how the prize was awarded. Non-profit organisation FairSquare has alleged that Infantino and FIFA may have breached their own ethical guidelines on political impartiality by giving Trump the award.

“There should be checks and balances on these issues, and this complaint from FairSquare should be treated with a ⁠transparent timeline, and that ⁠the reasoning and the ‌conclusion should be transparent,” Klaveness said.