The International Federation of Association Football, commonly known as FIFA, is a non-profit organization headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland. It comprises 211 member associations, surpassing the number of countries in the United Nations. FIFA is the supreme governing body for the sport of football, which is the world’s most popular and widespread sport. This includes not only association football but also futsal and beach soccer. FIFA oversees international competitions among national teams across all six continents, including the men’s and women’s FIFA World Cup tournaments. It is also responsible for promoting the game by ensuring fairness and integrity in competition and punishing any breaches of its regulations by federations, clubs, or players. FIFA generates billions of dollars in annual revenue from sponsorships, which is invested globally to develop the sport of football.

History of FIFA

With the growing popularity of football in the early 20th century and the increasing demand for international matches, there was a pressing need for a governing body to oversee the sport. Thus, on May 21, 1904, FIFA was founded in Paris, with its headquarters initially located at the back of the French Football Association. The founding members included the national associations of Belgium, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Spain (represented by the Madrid Football Club at the time as the Royal Spanish Football Federation was not established until 1913), Sweden, and Switzerland. On the same day, the German Football Association announced its intention to join via a telegram.

FIFA’s membership began to expand beyond Europe with the inclusion of South Africa in 1909, followed by Argentina in 1912, Canada and Chile in 1913, and the United States in 1914. During World War I, many players participated in the conflict, and travel for international matches became extremely limited, casting doubt on FIFA’s ability to fulfill its duties. After the war, Dutchman Carl Hirschmann managed the organization as it resumed its activities, albeit with some losses, including the temporary withdrawal of the English Football Association due to its unwillingness to participate in international competitions with wartime adversaries, though it rejoined later.

FIFA Anthem

Similar to the UEFA Champions League, FIFA adopted an anthem composed by German composer Franz Lambert, which has been played since the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the United States. The anthem is performed at the start of FIFA’s official matches and tournaments, including international friendlies, the FIFA World Cup for men and women of all ages, Olympic football matches, the FIFA Futsal World Cup, FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, and the FIFA Club World Cup. Since 2007, FIFA has requested that most of its broadcast partners use the anthem at the beginning and end of any coverage related to FIFA events.

Organizational Structure of FIFA

FIFA is structured with six continental federations and 211 national associations. Alongside the main organization, there are six continental football federations recognized by FIFA, which oversee the sport within their regions. National federations are members of FIFA and must first be affiliated with their respective continental federation before joining FIFA. These are:

• Asian Football Confederation (AFC) – 47 members
• Confederation of African Football (CAF) – 56 members
• Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) – 41 members
• South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) – 10 members
• Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) – 13 members
• Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) – 55 members

In addition to the continental federations, FIFA recognizes 211 national associations for men’s national teams and 129 for women’s national teams. The number of FIFA member associations exceeds the number of United Nations member states, including 23 non-sovereign entities such as the four countries within the United Kingdom and China’s Special Administrative Regions of Macau and Hong Kong.

FIFA categorizes smaller nations that might join into three groups:

1. Independent countries not yet members of FIFA, such as Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Monaco, Palau, Tuvalu, and Vatican City.
2. Non-independent territories, such as Greenland, Northern Mariana Islands, Réunion, Sint Maarten, and Zanzibar.
3. Politically sensitive areas, such as Abkhazia, Crimea, Northern Cyprus, and South Ossetia.

FIFA publishes a monthly ranking of all its member teams based on their performance in international competitions, qualifiers, and friendlies. There is also a global ranking for women’s football, updated quarterly.

FIFA Institutions

FIFA’s headquarters are in Zurich, Switzerland, and the organization operates as a legal entity under Swiss law. Its key institutions include:

• FIFA Congress: The supreme body of FIFA, consisting of representatives from each member association, with one vote per member regardless of size or football strength. The Congress meets annually and holds extraordinary sessions once a year since 1998. It makes decisions on game laws, their implementation, and the acceptance of new national associations, as well as organizing elections for the FIFA President, General Secretary, and FIFA Council members.
• FIFA Council: Previously known as the Executive Committee, the Council is the primary decision-making body between Congress meetings. It is chaired by the FIFA President and comprises 37 members, including the President, 8 Vice Presidents, and 28 members from the continental federations, with at least one woman. The Council decides the host country for the World Cup.

The organizational structure also includes several other committees established by the Congress or under the FIFA Council’s authority, such as the FIFA Emergency Committee, Ethics Committee, Finance Committee, Disciplinary Committee, and Referees Committee. The Emergency Committee handles urgent matters and includes the FIFA President and one member from each continental federation. Its decisions are implemented immediately but require ratification at the next Executive Committee meeting.

The FIFA President and General Secretary manage the day-to-day operations of FIFA, supported by a secretariat of 280 staff members. The current President is Gianni Infantino, elected on February 26, 2016, during an extraordinary Congress session following the suspension of the previous President, Sepp Blatter, due to a corruption investigation.

Laws

The laws governing football are not solely the responsibility of FIFA. They are formulated by the International Football Association Board (IFAB), which consists of eight members: four representing FIFA and four from the football associations of the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland), which jointly established IFAB in 1882. Changes to the game’s laws require approval from at least six of the eight representatives.

National Associations Discipline

FIFA often plays an active role in managing and developing the sport worldwide and imposing sanctions for breaches of its rules and regulations. One such penalty is the suspension of teams and members from international competitions when governments interfere in the management of national associations or if the partner does not operate its federation correctly.

Video Technology During Matches

FIFA now permits the use of video technology during matches and for post-match reviews, although there was considerable opposition to its use throughout most of FIFA’s history. In 1970, the International Football Association Board agreed to a request from television networks to avoid any slow-motion replays that could negatively impact refereeing decisions. In 2008, FIFA President Sepp Blatter expressed a desire to keep football as it is, accepting errors as part of the game, stating that television companies should not influence refereeing decisions.

FIFA Awards

FIFA holds an annual awards ceremony to honor the best achievements of the previous year, starting in 2016. The awards recognize individual and team accomplishments in football, including the Best Player for both men and women, and the Best Coach. In 2000, FIFA introduced additional awards: the Club of the Century award, which went to Real Madrid, and the Player of the Century award, shared between Diego Maradona and Pelé.

FIFA Competitions

FIFA directly oversees numerous men’s and women’s tournaments, including:

Men’s National Teams:

• FIFA World Cup
• Olympic Football Tournament
• U-20 World Cup
• U-17 World Cup
• Futsal World Cup
• Youth Olympic Futsal Tournament
• Beach Soccer World Cup
• Confederations Cup
• Arab Cup

Men’s Clubs:

• FIFA Club World Cup
• U-20 Club World Cup

Women’s National Teams:

• FIFA Women’s World Cup
• Olympic Women’s Football Tournament
• U-20 Women’s World Cup
• U-17 Women’s World Cup
• Youth Olympic Futsal Tournament

Women’s Clubs:

• FIFA Women’s Club World Cup

FIFA Corruption

In May 2006, British journalist Andrew Jennings published “Foul! The Secret World of FIFA: Bribes, Vote Rigging, and Ticket Scandals,” a book that caused significant controversy by detailing allegations of international bribery and vote manipulation. Jennings claimed that vote rigging occurred to maintain Sepp Blatter’s presidency and that officials were involved in bribery. Jennings also revealed that Blatter was under investigation by Swiss police for a secret payment of over one million pounds in bribes received by football officials. Former English Football Association President Lord Triesman described FIFA as operating like a “mafia family” and highlighted longstanding traditions of bribery and corruption. A documentary aired on June 11, 2006, featured testimonies about corruption within CONCACAF and FIFA, with one whistleblower, Mel Brennan, revealing misconduct.

Another documentary aired on November 29, 2010, alleged that three senior FIFA officials—Nicolas Leoz, Issa Hayatou, and Ricardo Teixeira—received significant bribes between 1989 and 1999, which FIFA failed to investigate. The documentary also accused Jack Warner of repeatedly reselling World Cup tickets. Blatter’s tenure as FIFA President was marred by these controversies, which led to his suspension and the eventual appointment of Gianni Infantino.

FIFA Presidents: A Comprehensive Table of Their Countries and Terms

The International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) is the governing body for the world’s most popular sport. Since its establishment in 1904, FIFA has been led by several notable individuals. Below is a table listing FIFA Presidents, their countries, and their terms in office: