Earlier this week, FIFA President Gianni Infantino announced a new FIFA Peace Prize which will be awarded at the draw for the World Cup on 5 December.
Infantino, who has a close relationship with US President Donald Trump, would not say whether he will be the first recipient of the award – but praised him this week as "a close friend" and as someone who "says what he thinks".
Reporter Kieran Cunningham spoke to RTÉ's Behind the Story podcast and says Infantino is allowing sports and politics to mix.
"The last World Cup was given to Qatar, which was a hugely controversial choice," he said.
"Infantino's kneejerk reaction to any criticism of these moves is that politics and sport don’t mix, but politics and sport mix when it suits him".
Mr Cunningham says the timing of the FIFA award is interesting.
"We all know that Donald Trump is obsessed with winning the Nobel Peace Prize," he said.
"This year, because of the timing of when Trump came into power, it wasn’t possible – so Infantino is grabbing his opportunity to get in before the Nobel judges.
"The presentation will take place at the World Cup draw, where he was going to be anyway, so you can join the dots," he added.
The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Venezuelan opposition leader and democracy activist Maria Corina Machado last month.
The day before, Mr Infantino wrote on Instagram that Trump "definitely deserves" the award for his efforts toward a peace deal in Gaza.
Podcast hosts Fran McNulty and Laura Fletcher also discuss the COP30 summit in Brazil - and look at some lesser-known facts about the global event.
You can listen to Behind the Story which is available on the RTÉ Radio Player.
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