‘You can do what you want’ - FIFA's World Cup draw became a divisive ode to Donald Trump, not a celebration of soccer

It all started, of course, with Infantino. The 55-year-old Italian aimed to be the hype man in a room full of executives, coaches, celebrities, and dignitaries. It was over the top at times, but it was justifiable in his view. 

"Because we are in America we need to make a show,” he said. 

This was Infantino-fest 3000. He rolled his favorite line, that the World Cup would be like '104 Super Bowls.' He then led the room in chants of "USA", "Canada" and "Mexico." 

That was one of the few times he split equal attention between all three hosts. Aside from that moment, there was little discussion of what this meant for the “other” two homes of the tournament. 

Canada coach Jesse Marsch, a U.S. citizen who was once an assistant coach for the USMNT, admitted he was unsurprised. 

"It was some serious pomp and circumstance, and like they said, very American, very American, to do it that way," Marsch said. 

There was little mention of Mexico, and a brief word for Canada. Otherwise, this was an event built entirely around Trump. 

The President, meanwhile, was given a chance to flex his football knowledge. Trump, supposedly a massive football fan, said he 'assumed' that Pele "was one of the greats."

After, he got in on the running gag that Infantino, a stand-up comic for the ages, had pushed, suggesting that the U.S. should conform to the rest of the world, stop using the word 'soccer', and 'come up with another name for the NFL.' 

Very few laughed.

And then it was Trump's moment. It is worth acknowledging, first, that this is a World Cup that will have three hosts - even if U.S. soccer said as late as 2016 that it wanted to hold the tournament alone. Sure, the U.S. will host 78 of the 104 games, including the final. This event was also held at the Kennedy Center - reportedly due to its proximity to the White House. This does feel like the United States’ tournament. But the Prime Minister of Canada and President of Mexico were also in attendance. This should belong to all three nations. 

Yet Trump went solo for a while. FIFA announced that it would hand out its inaugural peace prize on Nov. 4. Some within the organization reportedly didn't even know that it would be awarded. But it didn't take long to figure out that this would be handed to the President. On Nov. 5, Infantino outlined the premise for the award: 

"The FIFA Peace Prize… will recognise the enormous efforts of those individuals who unite people, bringing hope for future generations," he said via Instagram. 

To further outline just how peaceful the prize was, that notion was reinforced by a video introducing it. 

"Throughout human history, a call for peace has echoed across generations and civilizations," it began. 

"The inaugural peace prize is presented on behalf of the billions of people who love this game and love peace," it continued. "In this spirit, we acknowledge a dynamic leader who has engaged in diplomatic efforts that created opportunities for dialogue, de-escalation, and stability, and who has championed the unifying power of football of the world's stage. The inaugural 2025 FIFA Peace Prize is proudly bestowed upon the President of the United States of America... Donald J. Trump." 

There was an audible groan. And then he appeared. 

Infantino gave him a glowing introduction and handed him a gaudy, glistening medal. Trump waited no time for it to be presented, and immediately threw it on. 

"I'm gonna wear it right now," he said as he slung it around his neck. 

“You can wear it wherever you go,” Infantino replied.

And then Trump started speaking. It was a confusing work of self-promotion. He spoke for two minutes. First, he listed his achievements - his efforts for peace, the wars he claimed he has stopped, the ceasefires he claimed he was solely responsible for. Next, he praised Infantino for his ticket sales efforts, conveniently ignoring the fact that prices have spiked on the resale market, making the 2026 tournament the most expensive World Cup on record. 

After that, he reassured the world that Canada and the U.S. have an excellent relationship, something that contradicts well-known comments from the President over the past year. 

The sobering reality is that the spectacle on stage didn’t reflect the wider geopolitical picture. Iran threatened to boycott the event after members of its delegation were denied visas. Haiti is among several countries whose citizens face restrictive travel policies to the United States. Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch has called on FIFA to “act on human rights” ahead of the 2026 tournament, even suggesting that relocation should be considered if protections aren’t guaranteed under current U.S. immigration policies.

In a way, it closely mirrors the human rights concerns that were raised before the 2022 World Cup. Back then, Infantino addressed human rights violations in Qatar by pointing out that he knew what it was like to face discrimination because kids used to make fun of him for having ginger hair.

The rest of it was deeply puzzling. FIFA rolled out of slew of big names to get involved. Matthew McConaughey popped up in a not-very-funny skit to give Rio Ferdinand some advice as to how to lead a World Cup draw (conveniently ignoring the fact that he himself has never hosted a draw for a major tournament). 

For the event itself, which didn't start until one hour and 23 minutes into the ceremony, NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neill, NFL legend Tom Brady, and Yankees star Aaron Judge all showed up. There was a bit referencing Brady's skill as a quarterback, before the NFL great pointed out that he 'believed in America'.

Ferdinand quipped that Judge - who hit 53 home runs last year - would 'knock it out of the park'. Wayne Gretzky, the only Canadian presence on stage, who spent the latter half of his career playing for American teams, struggled through the pronunciation of countries, breaking out the infinitely quotable 'Mac-A-Doe-ne-yah'. 

The draw itself took around 20 minutes. 

"I felt like football was second, and entertainment was first," Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson said. "I’ve done a few draws for Euros, for Gold Cup, for Copa America, so I’ve done a lot of these kinds of events. Football should always be first." 

In one final flourish, the Village People showed up to lip-sync "YMCA". 

The show closed with Trump dancing in the rafters. The giddy President had owned the World Cup draw. And he knew it, too.