FIFA

History

The need for a single body to oversee association football became increasingly apparent at the beginning of the 20th century with the increasing popularity of international fixtures. The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) was founded in the rear of the headquarters of the Union des Sociétés Françaises de Sports Athlétiques (USFSA) at the Rue Saint Honoré 229 in Paris on 21 May 1904. The French name and acronym are universally adopted outside French-speaking countries. The founding members were the national associations of Belgium, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Spain (represented by then-Real Madrid CF; the Royal Spanish Football Federation was not created until 1913), Sweden and Switzerland.

On the same day, the German Football Association declared through a telegram its intention to affiliate.

The first president of FIFA was Robert Guérin. Guérin was replaced in 1906 by Daniel Burley Woolfall from England, by then a member of the association. The first tournament FIFA staged, the association football competition for the 1908 Olympics in London was more successful than its Olympic predecessors, despite the presence of professional footballers, contrary to the founding principles of FIFA.

Membership of FIFA expanded beyond Europe with the application of South Africa in 1909, Argentina in 1912, Canada and Chile in 1913, and the United States in 1914.

The 1912 Spalding Athletic Library "Official Guide" includes information on the 1912 Olympics (scores and stories), AAFA, and FIFA. The 1912 FIFA president was Dan B Woolfall. Daniel Burley Woolfall was president from 1906 to 1918.

During World War I, with many players sent off to war and the possibility of travel for international fixtures severely limited, the organisation's survival was in doubt. Post-war, following the death of Woolfall, the organisation was run by Dutchman Carl Hirschmann. It was saved from extinction but at the cost of the withdrawal of the Home Nations (of the United Kingdom), who cited an unwillingness to participate in international competitions with their World War enemies. The Home Nations later resumed their membership. The FIFA collection is held by the National Football Museum at Urbis in Manchester, England. The first World Cup was held in 1930 in Montevideo, Uruguay.

Identity

Flag

The FIFA flag is blue, with the organization's wordmark logo in the middle. The current FIFA flag was first flown during the 2018 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony in Moscow, Russia.

Anthem

Akin to the UEFA Champions League, FIFA has adopted an anthem composed by the German composer Franz Lambert since the 1994 FIFA World Cup. It has been re-arranged and produced by Rob May and Simon Hill. The FIFA Anthem is played at the beginning of official FIFA sanctioned matches and tournaments such as international friendlies, the FIFA World Cup, FIFA Women's World Cup, FIFA U-20 World Cup, FIFA U-17 World Cup, Football at the Summer Olympics, FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, FIFA Women's U-17 World Cup, FIFA Futsal World Cup, FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup and FIFA Club World Cup.

Since 2007, FIFA has also required most of its broadcast partners to use short sequences including the anthem at the beginning and end of FIFA event coverage and for break bumpers to help promote FIFA's sponsors. This emulates practices long used by international football events, such as the UEFA Champions League. Exceptions may be made for specific circumstances; for example, an original piece of African music was used for bumpers during the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Structure

Six confederations and 222 national associations

Besides its worldwide institutions, there are six confederations recognized by FIFA which oversee the game in the different continents and regions of the world. National associations, and not the continental confederations, are members of FIFA. The continental confederations are provided for in FIFA's statutes, and membership of a union is a prerequisite to FIFA membership.

Asian Football Confederation (AFC; 47 members - 46 are FIFA members)

Confederation of African Football (CAF; 54 members (all FIFA members) + 2 associate members)

Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF; 41 members - 35 are FIFA members)

Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol (CONMEBOL; 10 members - all FIFA members)

Oceania Football Confederation (OFC; 13 members - 11 are FIFA members)

Union of European Football Associations (UEFA; 55 members - all are FIFA Members)

In total, FIFA recognizes 211 national associations and their associated men's national teams as well as 204 women's national teams; see the list of national football teams and their respective country codes. The number of FIFA member associations is higher than the number of UN member states as FIFA has admitted associations from 23 non-sovereign entities as members in their own right, such as the four Home Nations within the United Kingdom and the two special administrative regions of China: Hong Kong and Macau.

FIFA can suspend countries due to numerous multifaceted issues. Common reasons include governance interference, corruption, and financial irregularities. Doping or the misappropriation of drugs is also a consideration for expulsion. FIFA suspended Russia from all competitions after the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. The FIFA Men's World Rankings are updated six times each year and rank each team based on their performance in international competitions, qualifiers, and friendly matches. The FIFA Women's World Rankings are updated on a quarterly schedule.

Laws and governance

FIFA headquarters is in Zürich, and it is an association established under the law of Switzerland.

FIFA's supreme body is the FIFA Congress, an assembly of representatives from each affiliated member association. Each national football association has one vote, regardless of size or footballing strength. The Congress assembles in ordinary sessions once every year, and extraordinary sessions have been held once a year since 1998. Congress makes decisions relating to FIFA's governing statutes and their method of implementation and application. Only Congress can pass changes to FIFA's statutes. The congress approves the annual report and decides on the acceptance of new national associations, and holds elections. Congress elects the President of FIFA, its general secretary, and the other members of the FIFA Council in the year following the FIFA World Cup.

The FIFA Council – formerly called the FIFA Executive Committee – is the organisation's main strategic body, making decisions in the intervals between Congress meetings. The council comprises 37 people: the president, who chairs the Council; 8 vice-presidents; and 28 members from the confederations. Each confederation must elect at least one woman to the Council. Six of the Vice-Presidents hold the role ex officio as the Presidents of the Confederations, and the remaining two must come from UEFA. The Council reviews the bids to host the World Cup and proposes up to three of these to the Congress, which votes to select the host country or countries.

The President and the Secretary General are the main office holders of FIFA and are in charge of its daily administration, carried out by the general secretariat, with its staff of approximately 280 members. Gianni Infantino is the current president, elected on 26 February 2016 at an extraordinary FIFA Congress session after former president Sepp Blatter was suspended pending a corruption investigation.

FIFA's worldwide organizational structure also consists of several other bodies under the authority of the FIFA Council or created by Congress as standing committees. Among those bodies are the Finance Committee, and Referees Committee, as well as independent judicial bodies the Disciplinary Committee, and the FIFA Ethics Committee.

Administrative cost

FIFA publishes its results according to International Financial Reporting Standards. The total compensation for the management committee in 2011 was 30 million for 35 people. Blatter, the only full-time person on the committee, earned approximately two million Swiss francs, 1.2 million in salary, and the rest in bonuses. A report in London's The Sunday Times in June 2014 said the members of the committee had their salaries doubled from $100,000 to $200,000 during the year. The report also said leaked documents had indicated $4.4 million in secret bonuses had been paid to the committee members following the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

Governance

The laws that govern football, known officially as the Laws of the Game, are not solely the responsibility of FIFA; they are maintained by a body called the International Football Association Board (IFAB). FIFA has members on its board (four representatives); the other four are provided by the football associations of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, who jointly established IFAB in 1882 and are recognized for the creation and history of the game. Changes to the Laws of the Game must be agreed upon by at least six delegates.

The FIFA Statutes form the overarching document guiding FIFA's governing system. The governing system is divided into separate bodies with the appropriate powers to create a system of checks and balances. It consists of four general bodies: the Congress, the executive committee, the general Secretariat, and standing and ad hoc committees.

Discipline of national associations

FIFA frequently takes active roles in the running of the sport and developing the game around the world. One of its sanctions is to suspend teams and associated members from international competition when a government interferes in the running of FIFA's associate member organizations or if the associate is not functioning correctly.

A 2007 FIFA ruling that a player can be registered with a maximum of three clubs and appear in official matches for a maximum of two in a year measured from 1 July to 30 June has led to controversy, especially in those countries whose seasons cross that date barrier, as in the case of two former Ireland internationals. As a direct result of this controversy, FIFA modified this ruling the following year to accommodate transfers between leagues with out-of-phase seasons.

Video replay and goal-line technology

FIFA now permits the use of video evidence during matches, as well as for subsequent sanctions. However, for most of FIFA's history it stood opposed to its use. The 1970 meeting of the International Football Association Board "agreed to request the television authorities to refrain from any slow-motion play-back which reflected, or might reflect, adversely on any decision of the referee". As recently as 2008 FIFA president Sepp Blatter said: "Let it be as it is and let's leave [football] with errors. The television companies will have the right to say [the referee] was right or wrong, but still, the referee makes the decision – a man, not a machine." This stance was finally overturned on 3 March 2018, when the IFAB wrote video assistant referees (also known as VARs) into the Laws of the Game permanently. Their use remains optional for competitions.

In early July 2012 FIFA sanctioned the use of goal-line technology, subject to rules specified by the International Football Association Board (IFAB), who had officially approved its use by amending the Laws of the Game to permit (but not require) its use. This followed a high-profile incident during a second-round game in the 2010 FIFA World Cup between England and Germany, where a shot by Englishman Frank Lampard, which would have levelled the scores at 2–2 in a match that ultimately ended in a 4–1 German victory, crossed the line but was not seen to do so by the match officials, which led FIFA officials to declare that they would re-examine the use of goal-line technology.

Corruption

The 2015 FIFA corruption scandal exposed a widespread bribery and corruption scheme within FIFA. This scandal implicated over two dozen FIFA officials and associates in a 24-year self-enrichment scheme that reached the highest levels of FIFA management. The scandal damaged its reputation and prompting widespread calls for significant reforms in the governance of international football.

After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, by a recommendation by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), FIFA suspended the participation of Russia. The Russian Football Union unsuccessfully appealed the FIFA ban to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which upheld the ban.

In 2024 allegations against FIFA were made by 420 players from several countries claiming the organisation did not pay them agreed sums of money, the total reaching up to £3 million.

For the first time since 1962, FIFA rescinded a World Cup red-card suspension in 2026 after United States forward Folarin Balogun was sent off against Bosnia and Herzegovina. The reversal prompted criticism from football officials and governing bodies, who expressed concern that the decision could undermine confidence in FIFA's disciplinary process.

In 2026, in an effort create a $20 billion private commercial subsidiary, FIFA President Gianni Infantino proposed plans to sell a minority stake of FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), an event management company, to private investors. Infantino's proposal was ultimately discontinued after heavy opposition and boycott threats from multiple football associations.

Anti-corruption initiatives

Since the 2010s, FIFA has implemented a variety of initiatives – such as the FIFA Ethics Committee – to combat corruption in international football to mixed results. FIFA banned Indonesia in 2015 due to government intervention within the team. FIFA faced public scrutiny in 2017 after the dismissal of ethics committee chairs Cornel Borbély and Hans-Joachim Eckert who claimed that the organization was unwilling to maintain an independent ethics office.

Recognition and awards

FIFA holds an annual awards ceremony, The Best FIFA Football Awards since 2016, which recognizes both individual and team achievements in international association football. Individually, the top men's player is awarded The Best FIFA Men's Player, and the top women's player is The Best FIFA Women's Player. Other prominent awards are The Best FIFA Football Coach and FIFA FIFPRO World 11.

FIFA presents many other awards each year, including the Ballon d'Or (which is jointly presented with the French Football Federation), given to the best and most popular player. The FIFA Puskás Award honors the most beautiful goal of the year, while the Golden Glove is awarded to the top-performing goalkeeper at each World Cup. Other notable awards include The FIFA Team of The Year, FIFA Player of The Century, and the Golden Boy award.

In 2000, FIFA presented two awards, FIFA Club of the Century and FIFA Player of the Century, to decide the greatest football club and player of the 20th century. Real Madrid was the club winner, while Diego Maradona and Pelé were the joint Player of the Century winners.

FIFA Peace Prize

On 6 November 2025, FIFA announced the creation of its FIFA Peace Prize—"an award to recognise exceptional actions for peace and unity... bestowed on behalf of all football-loving people from all around the world". At the 2026 World Cup draw in Washington, D.C., on 5 December 2025, the inaugural prize was presented to Donald Trump, president of the United States, by head of FIFA Gianni Infantino. The creation of the prize and the choice of Trump as its first recipient generated widespread ridicule, scrutiny and controversy. Human rights groups, analysts, and soccer stakeholders questioned the transparency of the selection process, the suitability of the inaugural laureate, and the implications both for FIFA's claims of political neutrality and its human rights commitments.

FIFA variants

Association football: Recognized 1904 (men), 1988 (women)

Futsal: Recognized 1986 (men), 2023 (women)

Esports: Recognized 2004

Beach soccer: Recognized 2005 (men), 2019 (women)

Current title holders

Sponsors of FIFA

As of October 2024

FIFA Partners

Adidas

Aramco

Coca-Cola

Hyundai–Kia

Lenovo

Qatar Airways

Visa

FIFA+

In April 2022 FIFA launched FIFA+, an OTT service providing up to 40,000 live matches per year, including 11,000 women's matches. It was also confirmed that FIFA would make available archival content, including every FIFA World Cup and FIFA Women's World Cup match recorded on camera, together with original documentary content. Eleven Sports was later reported to be responsible for populating the FIFA+ platform with live matches.

FIFA+ broadcast all matches of the youth World Cups in both genders, starting with the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup. FIFA+ also showed the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup live in selected regions such as Japan, Brazil, Indonesia, and Thailand.

FIFA+ have the rights to competitions in Oceania including the OFC Champions League and the OFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament. They also have rights to the New Zealand domestic competitions and national teams.

FIFA+ was launched exclusively on DAZN in June 2026.

Competitions

As of 16 May 2025 FIFA+ covers the following competitions:

OFC Women's Champions League

OFC U-16 Men's Championship

OFC U-16 Women's Championship

OFC Men's Champions League

OFC U-19 Men's Championship

OFC U-19 Women's Championship

OFC Men's Nations Cup

CAFA Nations Cup (final and third-place match only)

UNCAF Women's Interclub Championship

COSAFA Cup

COSAFA Women's Champions League

COSAFA Women's Championship

COSAFA U-17 Youth Championship

COSAFA U-17 Women's Championship

Only in:

Channels

Plex (FIFA+)

Eurosport India (FIFA+)

mewatch (FIFA+)

TrueVisions (FIFA+) 634

Xfinity (FIFA+)

DAZN (FIFA+)