Trump scores an own goal for FIFA

FIFA has invented a “Peace Award” to flatter Donald Trump, Kate Zarb writes, and football’s governing body has proven once again that it never misses an open goal to global embarrassment.

We weren’t surprised when we saw the game being played, but the punchline we had prepared ourselves for finally happened. On Saturday, December 6, FIFA rewarded the opening Peace Prize – a prize no one had ever heard of before Saturday – no one else Donald Trump.

Clearly FIFA has decided that it is not worthy of the respect of six billion people. She fawns over the giant man-baby with a trophy big enough (and ugly enough) to be used as a make-believe trophy and safety barrier.

Or is there?

FIFA, like the rest of the world, is watching in horror as everything spirals under Trump’s oppressive presence. He is simultaneously a laughing stock and an existential threat to millions of people; That’s his bad intention and FIFA knows it.

Since soccer is still a minor sport in the United States, I’m sure FIFA was hoping to profit from a successful Men’s World Cup in 2026 and for years to come.

But I think FIFA saw the writing on the wall. He knows that the 2026 World Cup will be remembered not for the magnificent goal, but for the players who turned away on the border. He knows there will be no heroism on the football field if locker rooms, team hotels and public streets become hunting grounds for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are determined to deport anyone more shady than an Antebellum plantation owner.

Like many of you, I try to stay away from news from the United States. I realize that I am privileged to be able to do this. However, my boycott is not a full boycott. I’ve seen videos of ICE agents terrorizing people, violating rules. ConstitutionThey are sure of their impunity. Project 2025 The regime recruited the country’s most cruel and ignorant people and gave them weapons and badges. And not just a gun, but an arsenal. And it’s not just a badge, it’s a government willing to look the other way when the laws are broken by white men in uniform.

FIFA cannot be sure that players will have safe passage when traveling to the United States next year. There will be even less protection for fans, which could keep most of them away. As well as ticket revenue, FIFA risks embarrassment if powerhouses from South America, Europe and Asia attract fewer crowds than a domestic Under-6 match.

The USA will cement its reputation as the world’s most despicable country, that’s for sure, but FIFA is also in danger of humiliation. Teams like Brazil, Spain and England are used to a certain level of fame. Empty stadiums would draw the ire of every football-loving nation in the world (at last count, all of them) and who knows what this could mean for the future of FIFA?

I think FIFA has learned lessons from these stories. coppola, Scorsese And David Chase and decided their only hope for “protection” was to pay off the local gangster boss. And like Tony Soprano before him, the only currency Trump accepts is flattery.

Will FIFA’s global humiliation work? Only time will tell. Just days after Silicon Valley billionaires Tim Cook, Mark Zuckerberg And Sam AltmanTrump, who dined with Trump and each took turns heaping praise on the tangerine tyrant, added a new fee of $100,000 to the fee. H-1B visa These tech moguls rely on it to keep their empires afloat.

And yes, it was as embarrassing as it sounds. America’s richest men spent an evening turning the President upside down by “blowing smoke up his ass,” as the Australians put it, only to forget about them and the “deals” he had made with them a few days later.

I recently saw a meme comparing Trump to four villains Willy Wonka children. This is the essence of Trump; He is so evil that even imaginary villains must be assembled before they can even approach his level of depravity.

This is the man FIFA admires.

Of course, we all know the “Peace Prize” was made up, but I hope Trump doesn’t do it. Although he has troubling doubts, FIFA is a global organization and it won’t take much for Trump to be convinced that FIFA is far more respected than the Nobel Committee. If he continues to believe that this made-up award is the greatest honor ever bestowed on a human being, it might impress him a bit.

We can only hope it works.

Kate Zarb is a jaded Generation X woman who wants the world to be a better place. He has worked in every field, from hospitality to politics, and has used each episode as an opportunity to learn about the world we live in. You can follow Kate on Bluesky. @kathoftarragon.bsky.social.

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