FIFA (the Federation Internationale de Football Association) was founded at the headquarters of Union Des Societes Francaises de Sports Athletiques (USFSA) on the 21st of May 1904 in Paris, France, at the Rue Saint Honore 229.
Earlier, there was the Scottish Football Association in 1873 and the Football Association (FA), which was based in the United Kingdom. As the sport began to gain popularity, it was decided to have a larger body.
Earlier FA president Lord Kinnaird didn’t accept FIFA as a global body, so other nations decided to form a separate body, and thus FIFA was formed.
FIFA’s headquarters are in Zurich, Switzerland. It was founded to overlook preparations for all the international events related to football.
FIFA’s first president was Robert Guerin, who held the post till 1906. England’s Daniel Burley Woolfall was appointed as the president of FIFA in 1906, and under his guidance, there were some reforms in the rules of football, and the first-ever footballing event was held for the 1908 Olympics.
England joined as a member in 1905 as Baron Edouard de Laveleye became the first honorary member of the body. Woolfall was the president of the governing body till he expired in 1918.
The current president of the governing body is Gianni Infantino, while the current secretary general is Mattias Grafstrom.
The first FIFA Men’s World Cup was hosted in 1930 by Uruguay. Thirteen countries took part in that event, and Uruguay won that event. The first Women’s World Cup was held in China, and the USA won that tournament.
The FIFA World Cup is held every four years, while the European Championships are also played every four years. The first Men’s Euro Championship winners were the Soviet Union, who won it in 1960, while Sweden won the inaugural women’s edition in 1984.
As the game spread, participating teams also increased. The next FIFA Men’s World Cup will see 46 teams participating in 2026, while the Euro Championships witnessed 32 teams in action.
FIFA’s rules stated:
- Represented associations will be recognised.
- Players can play for only two national associations, and all associations have to recognise a player’s suspension.
- The laws of the Football Association would have to be followed.
- FIFA can only organise international games.
Role of FIFA
FIFA overlooks all the administrative and logistics costs of all the international footballing events.
FIFA is responsible for conducting the World Cup, European Championships, Confederation Cup, and other events like the Nations League, European Qualifiers, World Cup qualifiers, FIFA Club World Cup, FIFA Beach Football World Cup, FIFA Futsal World Cup, FIFA Under-17 and Under-19 World Cups, etc.
FIFA has outlined statutes that highlight its governing system. The governing system reviews checks and balances.
It is divided into congress, general secretariat, executive committee, standing and ad hoc committees.
The congress meeting has been held once every year since 1998, and it oversees the body’s statutes and their implementation process, and any changes in statutes are possible through congress. The congress decides about the inductions of new national organizations, approval of annual reports, and appointment of the FIFA president, general secretary, and members of the FIFA council.
FIFA council comprises 37 members – president, 8 vice presidents, and 28 confederation members, including 1 woman. FIFA has approximately 280 members as its staff.
The executive body decides on who will host the World Cup. Emergency committee, Ethics Committee, Finance Committee, and Disciplinary & Referees Committee are also under FIFA.
The Emergency Committee manages settlement matters while Emergency Committee decisions are ratified in the Executive Committee meeting. FIFA is crucial to develop and promote the sport across the globe.
It can suspend teams and associated member organisations from international events if a government interferes in the administration of FIFA’s associate member organisations or if an associate is not functioning properly.
FIFA has also introduced VAR (Video Assistant Referrals ) and the use of goal -ine technology to make the judgement in the game fair. FIFA also conducts Best Team of Year, Best Player of the Year (Men’s & Women’s), and Best Club of the Year awards for the best-performing players and teams annually.
Members of FIFA
When FIFA was founded, Belgium, France, Denmark, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland were its members. Currently, it has 211 national associations as its members and 129 women’s national teams.
It also has members from Asian Football Federation (AFC: 47 members), Confederation of African Football (CAF: 54 members), Confederation of North, Central American & Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF: 41 members), Confederacion Sudamericana de Futbol (CONMEBOL: 10 members), Oceania Football Confederation (OFC: 13 members), and Union of European Football Associations (UEFA: 55 members).