Short answers, pulled from the story.
Zaw Zaw is a Burmese business magnate, banker, investor, and philanthropist who chairs Max Myanmar Group of Companies, a major conglomerate. He founded Max Myanmar in 1993 as a used-car export business and grew it into a group generating around US $500 million in annual revenue by the early 2010s.
The United States Treasury placed Zaw Zaw on its Specially Designated Nationals list in 2009, as part of sanctions against around 200 individuals and companies. The designation was linked to his reported close ties to senior figures in Myanmar's former ruling military junta, the State Peace and Development Council. He was removed from the list in 2016.
Zaw Zaw has served as chairman of the Myanmar Football Federation since 2005, a tenure spanning more than two decades. He also held positions as vice president of the ASEAN Football Federation and vice president of the Asian Football Confederation, both for four-year terms running 2019-2023.
Yankin Children's Hospital is a 550-bed pediatric facility in Yangon. Zaw Zaw funded its construction in 2011 at a cost of around 9 billion kyats (approximately US $10 million) and transferred ownership to Myanmar's Ministry of Health for use as a tertiary hospital and teaching facility for University of Medicine 2, Yangon.
Zaw Zaw established the Ayeyarwady Foundation in 2010 to fund charitable projects including schools, medical institutions, and disaster response. The foundation built and operates the Yankin Children's Hospital, donated around US $1.7 million in Rakhine State in 2017, and contributed over US $2.2 million to Myanmar's COVID-19 response.
Investigations by The Guardian and other outlets identified Zaw Zaw as chair of the FIFA Peace Prize selection committee in 2025. Critics raised concerns about his reported ties to Myanmar's former military junta and to human rights abuses against the Rohingya people, questioning the credibility of a peace award overseen by him.