STOCKHOLM – FIFA must eliminate its peace prize to steer clear of political entanglements, Norwegian Football Association President Lise Klaveness declared Monday, recommending that such honors remain the domain of Oslo’s Nobel Institute.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino sparked backlash by granting the new award to U.S. President Donald Trump last December during the 2026 World Cup draw. Critics viewed it as a sop to Trump, who has often claimed entitlement to the Nobel Peace Prize and whose nation will co-host the tournament alongside 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 said in an online media briefing. She argued football bodies should preserve distance from state figures, warning that without robust juries and criteria, such awards turn inevitably political.
The 45-year-old lawyer deemed it a mismatch for FIFA’s resources, mandate, and governance standards. Klaveness revealed the NFF board plans a letter backing FairSquare’s probe into potential ethical lapses by Infantino and FIFA on political neutrality. “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,” she added.