FIFA President Gianni Infantino turned heads at the first meeting of U.S. President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace on February 19, 2026, in Washington D.C. wearing a red “USA” cap what is inspired cap of Trump’s signature MAGA hats, complete with “45-47” written on it which is referencing Donald Trump’s two presidential terms.
Board of Peace is an international organization established by U.S. President Donald Trump in January 2026. It was launched at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
It was created to have ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, have the reconstruction of Gaza, and establish and help them establish governance control among its many principles.
Trump serving as Chairman for this and holding exclusive authority to appoint members on the council. The permanent seats in the council are reserved for nations contributing at least US$1 billion to the reconstruction fund. To date, over 25 countries including Israel, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Argentina have joined the initiative.
Why was Infantino there
Infantino has been trying to form a close relationship with Trump in the lead-up to the 2026 World Cup, which will feature 78 matches across 11 U.S. cities. The relationship reached a new level last December when FIFA awarded Trump the FIFA Peace Prize during the FIFA world Cup 2026 draw. This was a move that created a wave of criticism as a political gesture to favor Trump ahead of the World Cup.
At Thursday’s meeting, FIFA pledged $50 million for a new stadium with a capacity of 20,000 to 25,000 spectators in Gaza, along with a $15 million FIFA academy, $2.5 million for 50 mini pitches, and five full-sized fields.
Infantino also addressed the world leaders in that meeting. He said that football has a role to play in rebuilding not just infrastructure but hope and trust among communities across the world.
The Hat
The leaders who were attending the meeting, were gifted red hats.
The image of Infantino wearing the hat quickly went viral, and football Twitter did not hold back.
User @covie_93 asked, “is FIFA a country now????” asked questioning the FIFA’s role among national leaders. Replies amplified the sarcasm and criticism: “No, but they are corrupt, that’s all you need to be friends with Trump“,
Former Swiss international Ramon Vega was more direct, “Absolutely a joke and this FIFA president 🤡 totally undermines the integrity of football… DISASTER FOR FOOTBALL ⚽ LEADERSHIP.”
Expressing his disbelief that the head of world football’s governing body would want themselves to be present at a politically inspired event wearing what is a political campaign thing.
Absolutely a joke and this FIFA president 🤡 totally undermines the integrity of football and the purpose of FIFA as an organisation! “The basic rules of Article 14, remain politically neutral, in accordance with the principles and objectives of FIFA.” Don’t mix football with… https://t.co/fob4Jt6Z0C
— Ramon Vega (@Ramon_Vega71) February 19, 2026
Sports journalist Duncan Castles added a very good point. Pointing out that FIFA’s own code of conduct requires its officials to remain politically neutral a rule that has been raised to be implemented by human rights organizations since Infantino awarded Trump the FIFA Peace Prize.
Second rule that Infantino has been accused of breaking is by simply wearing the MAGA-style cap, which bore both the “USA” branding and the “45-47” reference to Trump’s dual presidency.
Some users called this situation a “disaster for the sport.” Their concern isn’t just about just this tournament, but about the long-term damage to the World Cup’s credibility.
Another twitter user @ConcafEdgar, pointed out the same thing that, According to the FIFA rules he should not stay as president of FIFA by stating same thing ,”He should be fired By FiFA rules”
Former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul , who is critical of Trump’s policies. “So this guy can put on a MAGA hat, and it’s totally cool. But a Ukrainian athlete at the Olympics can’t wear a helmet honoring his fellow athletes killed by the Russians? That’s ‘political’?” With hastag, #Hypocrisy.
This refers to the news of Vladyslav Heraskevych, a Ukrainian skeleton racer who was disqualified from the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics for refusing to remove his “helmet of remembrance” during competition. Helmet had the faces of 20 members of the Ukrainian Olympic Team that was killed during the war of Russia, Ukraine.
FIFA and its affiliated bodies have a history of punishing footballers for political protest or speaking something else other than football is deemed illegal. The FIFA rulebook has been applied ruthlessly to only players on the pitch.
They also raise an interesting player-centric point, that footballers themselves will lose respect and confidence when they will be competing under an organization that is corrupt. Some were worried, infact predicted that USA will be reaching the final of this year’s world cup, by match fixing.
@TomLondon6 said: “BOYCOTT the Trump-Infantino World Cup in 2026. It will be like Hitler’s Olympics in 1936
By the Hitler’s Olympics comparison , he referencing the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games, which were widely used by the Nazis as a propaganda showcase to power and legitimacy of how they are the good people to the world.
One fan said she wouldn’t be surprised if FIFA simply “hands” the World Cup title to the USA given the level of sycophancy Infantino and FIFA have shown toward the USA. This reflects the belief that political influence will overshadow fair competition in upcoming world cup.
User @maqwelll said “non profit and non political organization everyone.” Stating FIFA’s own statutes of that require it to reinvest the vast majority of its revenue back into the development of football. And statutes that require strict political neutrality from its officials.
@labadfwu said that “They’ve brought politics into our precious sport”. This shows the general frustration of supporters who feel football is being used as a geopolitical tool rather than being protected as a global game that we love.
@Crazylegs67 saying Infantino is “worse than Blatter”, a comparison given Sepp Blatter’s legacy of corruption and eventual ban from football on what he did with World cup hosting rights. At least Blatter was doing it in private, not like Infantino.
FIFA has spent decades defending itself against accusations of corruption. Infantino came into office in 2016 promising a cleaner, more transparent governing body — one that would put the game first. But kind of things that has been happening lately tells a different story.
