When FIFA turned the World Cup draw into a farce

Kevin Hart, funny but too short, and Heidi Klum, classy but stiff, emotionless

If football is a sport of emotions and the World Cup is the biggest stage on the planet, then the 2026 World Cup draw in the early morning of December 6 should have been a smooth, well-organized performance worthy of a sporting event watched by the whole world. However, what happened at the Kennedy Center in Washington was like a situation comedy that made the audience not know whether to laugh, cry, or feel ashamed for FIFA.

A disjointed "show" with no beginning or end

In its 54 years, the Kennedy Center has seen its fair share of disasters. But this year’s draw reached a new level of awkwardness, chaos, and unprofessionalism. A World Cup-caliber show that felt like it was put together on a cruise ship, lacking rehearsal, coordination, and especially lacking the stature of the organization behind it.

From the very first minutes, viewers felt the patchwork. The MCs were paired awkwardly: Kevin Hart, funny but too short, and Heidi Klum, elegant but stiff and emotionless. They stood next to each other, creating a “one short, one tall” pair so out of place that it reminded people of the 1989 Brit Awards, one of the worst awards ceremonies in history. A feeling of awkwardness spread as the two failed to find a rhythm, the story was disjointed, the funny parts fell into the void.

But that was just the surface. The stage was shabby, the microphones kept malfunctioning, there were no subtitles for the Spanish interviews. Every little detail screamed that the ceremony was hastily organized and that no experienced director was behind it.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino has never hidden his ambitions, but the way he placed Donald Trump at the center of the ceremony left many people shaking their heads. Trump was awarded the FIFA “ Peace Prize,” a concept that is both meaningless and controversial. Infantino stood next to Trump with the eyes of a younger brother idolizing his older brother, creating a scene that was both ridiculous and confusing.

MCs appeared at the 2026 World Cup draw ceremony.

What message is FIFA trying to convey? Is it the neutrality of sport, or is it the willingness to embrace any political figure that might benefit it? This incident further reinforces the image of FIFA as an organization that is always sliding into power relationships and interests, instead of focusing on the professional quality of football.

Robbie Williams, famous for his struggling career in the US, was chosen to sing the official World Cup song. A song that was as disappointing as what happened on stage. The closing performance by the Village People, the legendary but outdated group, turned the ceremony into a reluctant nostalgia show. Although Victor Willis, the only remaining member of the group, is 74, they still had to sing YMCA in Native American and construction worker costumes. The crowd was more awkward than excited.

Ironically, Rio Ferdinand, who had been the subject of much ridicule as a commentator, proved to be the most stable figure on stage, keeping the ceremony on track, stopping the downward spiral with remarkable patience.

But as time went on, Ferdinand's face became more and more tired and helpless. Each missed beat, each wrong handover made the former Manchester United midfielder look like a typical Englishman in a sitcom: gritting his teeth and enduring whatever disaster befell him.

When the most important part also… fails

The draw, the heart of the ceremony, should have been smooth, precise, and formal. But it wasn't. The new, complicated system left Ferdinand and Samantha Johnson so confused that they had to explain it over and over again, disrupting the flow of the show. Worse, by the time Ferdinand turned to thank his supporters, like Shaquille O'Neal, Tom Brady, or Wayne Gretzky, they had already left the stage.

Rio Ferdinand alone could not save the 2026 World Cup draw from being criticized as a disaster.

The entire ceremony ended with the feeling of someone waking up from a two-hour nightmare. An event that was supposed to showcase the class and stature of the World Cup became a mirror of FIFA’s long-standing problems: excessive fanfare, superficiality in organization and an obsession with empty spectacle outside of football.

The 2026 World Cup will be the biggest in history, but if the draw was so chaotic, FIFA needs to take a look at itself. What football needs is not flashy performances, but professionalism, transparency and respect for the audience. A bad draw does not ruin the tournament, but it does reveal something more worrying: an organization that is losing its seriousness about its own product.

A disjointed "show" with no beginning or end

When the most important part also… fails

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