And now demoted, too, after Fifa president Gianni Infantino dumped the thing on the global governing body’s “social responsibility committee” to look after.
asserted
Infantino → demote → committee
To redeem it, rather than to ditch it, to spare Infantino the embarrassment of acknowledging that his fake prize was really just a fake prize all along.
asserted
prize → redeem → embarrassment
Here is where we should probably acknowledge that, as fake prizes go, and in the context of what it was intended to accomplish, the first awarding of the Fifa peace prize was an unqualified success.
asserted
awarding → acknowledge → prize
It achieved exactly what it was meant to, made by Infantino to flatter Donald Trump, the man he needed to keep on his side to safeguard the riches to be extracted from the North American market in order to consolidate his power base within Fifa.
asserted
he → achieve → Fifa
Trump, the gullible buffoon, was pleased as punch – handed a big, golden bauble and a medal he placed around his own neck – and briefly forgot about the Nobel peace prize he desperately covets.
asserted
he → hand → prize
The 22-person social responsibility committee is one of the dozens of standing committees Infantino has created to dole out generous per diems to his allies.
asserted
Infantino → stand → allies
It has been charged with recasting the prize into a recognition of social harmony and responsibility, as the Guardian has reported, and will probably seek to depoliticize it – or at least stop awarding it to politicians.
asserted
Guardian → charge → politicians
There are no aspiring autocrats to placate for the foreseeable future, after all, since Saudi Arabia’s de-facto ruler and host of the 2034 World Cup, Mohammed bin Salman, doesn’t seem to go in for that kind of thing.
asserted
ruler → be → thing
That first incarnation of the prize will stand as a monument to Infantino’s folly, as the apex of his hubris and his era of genuflecting to strongmen.
asserted
incarnation → stand → strongmen
That is, of course, assuming he survives the fallout of his attempt to privatize a chunk of the World Cup and re-emerges somewhat chastened and cautious, if either of those behaviors are still within his capacity.
asserted
either → assume → capacity
And if he makes it through another presidential election in March.
asserted
he → make → March
But a second version of the Fifa peace prize holds genuine potential to highlight some of the good the sport occasionally does, to platform and recognize those who leverage soccer’s vast cultural influence to improve the lives of others.
asserted
who → hold → others
The magic of soccer is that it transcends the field and reflects cultures and geopolitics; it becomes anthropological ritual, spoken as the world’s common language.
asserted
it → transcend → language
Sometimes, it transforms into a vessel for virtue.
asserted
it → transform → virtue
You could give the new prize to Afghan Women United for getting recognized as the official representatives of their country all while playing as refugees in exile.
uncertain
You → give → exile
In June, they contested a pair of friendlies against the Cook Islands in New Zealand.
asserted
they → contest → Zealand
They lost both matches, yes, but that’s beside the point.
asserted
that → lose → point
Their mere existence doubles as a towering protest against the Taliban, which has resumed its violent oppression of women since storming back into Kabul in 2021.
asserted
which → double → 2021
You could give it to Ukrainian club Shakhtar Donetsk, for persevering and even thriving in spite of Russia’s invasion – either through proxies or outright – of their Donbas region a dozen years ago, forcing the club to play elsewhere ever since.
uncertain
You → give → club
Give it to Scotland’s Tartan Army, for raising money for children’s charities wherever they play.
asserted
they → give → charities
How would any of this relate to peace?
asserted
any → relate → peace
The peace prize could stand to be rebranded, the better to disassociate it from the least peaceful leader of a western nation in generations.
uncertain
prize → stand → generations
It should probably have clearer qualifications and regulations, too, which is to say that it should have qualifications and regulations.
asserted
it → have → qualifications
And it’s probably best to shy away from the notion of steering entirely clear of politics.
asserted
it → ’ → politics
You can either have an award that acknowledges social good or you can be apolitical.
asserted
you → have → good
You cannot do both.
asserted
You → do → both
But that needn’t be a bad thing, if this prize is sincere in rewarding one of the sport’s best citizens – and so long as it serves more than the Fifa president’s selfish interests.
asserted
it → reward → interests
He teaches at Marist University.
asserted
He → teach → University
The Aporia
