FIFA President Gianni Infantino said that he and U.S. President Donald Trump will deliver the World Cup trophy to the winning team following the championship match on July 19.
“We will be together with the president enjoying the final and handing the trophy to the winner, of course, together,” Infantino said on “Fox and Friends” on June 23.
Trump and Infantino handed out the trophy at last summer’s Club World Cup final, which was also played at MetLife Stadium, when Chelsea defeated Paris Saint-Germain 3–0. The venue has been temporarily named New York New Jersey Stadium for the 2026 World Cup.
“I knew he was going to be here, but I didn’t know he was going to be on the stand when we lifted the trophy, so I was a bit confused,” Chelsea’s Cole Palmer said after the match.
It’s not uncommon for heads of state to participate in trophy presentations, but they don’t often remain on stage as the winning team celebrates.
Trump did not attend the U.S. Men’s National Team’s matches against Paraguay and Australia, which the U.S. team won.
Trump and Infantino have a close relationship after working together to ensure a successful World Cup tournament, which is being held in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
Infantino awarded Trump FIFA’s inaugural peace prize during the FIFA World Cup Draw at the Kennedy Center in December 2025.
In a video played before Trump accepted the prize, the narrator noted the U.S. president’s efforts to secure peace around the globe.
“He has supported efforts to broker ceasefires and promote diplomatic engagement, actions that helped create conditions in which peace could take root. Under President Trump’s leadership, the historic Abraham Accords were signed, bringing the first real progress in the Middle East in decades,” the narrator said.
“His leadership has ensured that peace exists between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, Cambodia and Thailand, Kosovo and Serbia, India and Pakistan, Egypt and Ethiopia, and Armenia and Azerbaijan.
“President Donald J. Trump’s actions have also ensured that peace exists between Israel and Hamas by brokering the Gaza peace plan. And he is making a continued effort to bring a lasting peace between Russia and Ukraine. This has been a presidency marked by actions to pursue peace around the world.”
Standing on stage alongside Trump, Infantino read a certificate explaining the prize’s significance.
“Football unites the world, so the FIFA Peace Prize is presented annually on behalf of the billions of football-loving people from around the world,” he said.
“The distinguished individual who exemplifies an unwavering commitment to advancing peace and unity throughout the world through their notable leadership and action and therefore FIFA, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association, awards the 2025 FIFA Peace Prize Football Unites the World to Donald J. Trump, president of the United States of America, in recognition of his exceptional and extraordinary action to promote peace and unity around the world.”
Trump was passed up for the Nobel Peace Prize in October 2025. That award instead went to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, who later gifted her prize to Trump.
Infantino was at the signing of the Abraham Accords in 2020, when the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain normalized ties with Israel. Morocco, Sudan, and Kazakhstan have since joined the accords. Infantino was also at the peace signings in Egypt surrounding the war in Gaza, in Malaysia for a signing by Cambodia and Thailand, and in Washington for a signing by Congo and Rwanda.
