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The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of
association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
,
beach soccer Beach soccer, also known as beach football, sand football or sand soccer, is a variant of association football played on a beach or some form of sand between two teams of five players each. Association football has long been played informally on ...
, and
futsal Futsal is a variant of association football played between two teams of five players each on a court smaller than a football pitch. Its rules are based on the Laws of the Game (association football), Laws of the Game of association football, and i ...
. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to oversee international competition among the national associations of
Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
,
Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
,
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
,
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, the
Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
,
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
(represented by
Real Madrid CF Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...
),
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
, and
Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
. Headquartered in
Zurich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...
, Switzerland, its membership now comprises 211 national associations. These national associations must also be members of one of the six regional confederations: CAF (Africa), AFC (Asia),
UEFA The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...
(Europe),
CONCACAF The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football, abbreviated as CONCACAF ( ; typeset for branding purposes since 2018 as Concacaf), is one of FIFA's six continental governing bodies for association football. Its 4 ...
(North & Central America and the Caribbean), OFC (Oceania), and
CONMEBOL CONMEBOL ( ) or CSF (; ; ), is the continental governing body of football in South America and it is one of FIFA's six continental confederations. The oldest continental confederation in the world, its headquarters are located in Luque, Parag ...
(South America). FIFA is a sports governing body that organizes football events all over the world. FIFA outlines several objectives in its organizational statutes, including growing football internationally, ensuring it is accessible to everyone, and advocating for integrity and fair play. It is responsible for organizing and promoting football's major international
tournaments A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...
, notably the World Cup which began in 1930, and the Women's World Cup which commenced in 1991. Although FIFA does not solely set the laws of the game, that being the responsibility of the
International Football Association Board The International Football Association Board (IFAB) is an international self-regulatory body of association football that is known for determining the Laws of the Game, the regulations for the gameplay of football. It was founded in 1886 in or ...
of which FIFA is a member, it applies and enforces the rules across all FIFA competitions. All FIFA tournaments generate revenue from sponsorships; in 2022, FIFA had revenues of over US$5.8 billion, ending the 2019–2022 cycle with a net positive of $1.2 billion, and cash reserves of over $3.9 billion. Reports by investigative journalists have linked FIFA leadership with corruption, bribery, and vote-rigging related to the election of FIFA president
Sepp Blatter Joseph Sepp Blatter (born Josef Blatter; 10 March 1936) is a Swiss former association football, football administrator who served as the list of Presidents of FIFA, eighth president of FIFA from 1998 to 2015. He has been banned from participatin ...
and the organization's decision to award the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar, respectively. These allegations led to the indictments of nine high-ranking FIFA officials and five corporate executives by the
US Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of federal laws and the administration of justice. It is equ ...
on charges including
racketeering Racketeering is a type of organized crime in which the perpetrators set up a coercion, coercive, fraud, fraudulent, extortionary, or otherwise illegal coordinated scheme or operation (a "racket") to repeatedly or consistently collect a profit. ...
,
wire fraud Mail fraud and wire fraud are terms used in the United States to describe the use of a physical (e.g., the U.S. Postal Service) or electronic (e.g., a phone, a telegram, a fax, or the Internet) mail system to defraud another, and are U.S. fede ...
, and
money laundering Money laundering is the process of illegally concealing the origin of money obtained from illicit activities (often known as dirty money) such as drug trafficking, sex work, terrorism, corruption, and embezzlement, and converting the funds i ...
. On 27 May 2015, several of these officials were arrested by Swiss authorities, who launched a simultaneous but separate criminal investigation into how the organization awarded the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. Those among these officials who were also indicted in the US are expected to be extradited to face charges there as well. Many officials were suspended by FIFA's ethics committee including
Sepp Blatter Joseph Sepp Blatter (born Josef Blatter; 10 March 1936) is a Swiss former association football, football administrator who served as the list of Presidents of FIFA, eighth president of FIFA from 1998 to 2015. He has been banned from participatin ...
and
Michel Platini Michel François Platini (; born 21 June 1955) is a French association football, football Administrator (business), administrator and former player and manager. Regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time, Platini won the Ballon d'O ...
. In early 2017, reports became public about FIFA president
Gianni Infantino Giovanni Vincenzo Infantino (); (born 23 March 1970) is a Swiss-Italian Association football, football Administrator (business), administrator and the president of the FIFA, Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) since 26 Febr ...
attempting to prevent the re-elections of both chairmen of the ethics committee, Cornel Borbély and Hans-Joachim Eckert, during the FIFA congress in May 2017. On 9 May 2017, following Infantino's proposal, The FIFA Council decided not to renew the mandates of Borbély and Eckert. Together with the chairmen, 11 of 13 committee members were removed. FIFA has been suspected of corruption regarding the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup bid.


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 The Union of French Athletic Sports Societies () was a sports governing body in France. During the 1890s and early 1900s it organised numerous sports including athletics, cycling, field hockey, fencing, croquet, and swimming. However it is perh ...
(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 Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
,
Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
,
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, the
Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
, Spain (represented by then-
Real Madrid CF Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...
; the Royal Spanish Football Federation was not created until 1913),
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
and
Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
. On the same day, the
German Football Association The German Football Association ( ; DFB ) is the governing body of Association football, football, futsal, and beach soccer in Germany. A founding member of both FIFA and UEFA, the DFB has jurisdiction for the German football league system and ...
(DFB) declared its intention to affiliate through a telegram. The first president of FIFA was
Robert Guérin Robert Guérin (; born Clément Auguste Maurice Robert; 28 April 1876 – 19 March 1952) was a French journalist, and the List of Presidents of FIFA, first president and one of the founders of the Fédération Internationale de Football Associati ...
. Guérin was replaced in 1906 by Daniel Burley Woolfall from
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
, 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 South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
in 1909,
Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
in 1912,
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
and
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
in 1913, and the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
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 World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, with many players sent off to war and the possibility of travel for international fixtures severely limited, the organization's survival was in doubt. Post-war, following the death of Woolfall, the organization 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 Urbis is a building in Manchester, England, designed by Ian Simpson (architect), Ian Simpson, which opened in 2002 as part of the redevelopment of Exchange Square (Manchester), Exchange Square. Originally a Museum of the City, a switch was made i ...
in Manchester, England. The first World Cup was held in 1930 in
Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...
, 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 The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...
, FIFA has adopted an anthem composed by the German composer Franz Lambert since the
1994 FIFA World Cup The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States w ...
. 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 The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...
,
FIFA Women's World Cup The FIFA Women's World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the senior list of women's national association football teams, women's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internationale de Footb ...
,
FIFA U-20 World Cup The FIFA U-20 World Cup is the biennial football world championship tournament for FIFA members' men's national teams with players under the age of 20. The competition has been staged every two years since the inaugural tournament in 1977 when i ...
,
FIFA U-17 World Cup The FIFA U-17 World Cup, founded as the FIFA U-16 World Championship, later changed to U-17 in 1991 and to its current name in 2007, is the annual world championship of association football for male players under the age of 17 organized by ''Fé ...
,
Football at the Summer Olympics Association football has been included in every Summer Olympic Games as a men's competition sport, except 1896 (the inaugural Games) and 1932 (in an attempt to promote the new FIFA World Cup tournament). Women's football was added to the offic ...
,
FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup The FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup is an international association football tournament, organized by FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association), for national teams of women under the age of 20. The tournament is held biennially. ...
, FIFA Women's U-17 World Cup, FIFA Futsal World Cup,
FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup The FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup is an international beach soccer competition contested by the national teams of the member associations of FIFA, the sport's global governing body. The tournament was preceded by the Beach Soccer World Championshi ...
and
FIFA Club World Cup The FIFA Club World Cup (FIFA CWC) is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (FIFA), the sport's global sports governing body, governing body. The compe ...
. 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.


Presidents of FIFA


Structure


Six confederations and 211 national associations

Besides its worldwide institutions, there are six confederations recognized by FIFA which oversee the game in the different
continent A continent is any of several large geographical regions. Continents are generally identified by convention (norm), convention rather than any strict criteria. A continent could be a single large landmass, a part of a very large landmass, as ...
s 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 The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is the governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal in most countries and territories in Asia. The AFC was formed in 1954. It has 47 members. The Asian Ladies Football Confederation ( ...
(AFC; 47 members) *
Confederation of African Football The Confederation of African Football (CAF) is the administrative and controlling body for association football, beach soccer, and futsal in Africa. It was established on 8 February 1957 at the ''Grand Hotel'' in Khartoum, Sudan. At the FIFA Co ...
(CAF; 54 members) * Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF; 41 members) * Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol (CONMEBOL; 10 members) *
Oceania Football Confederation The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) is one of the six continental confederations of international association football. The OFC has 13 members, 11 of which are full members and two which are associate members not affiliated with FIFA. It ...
(OFC; 13 members) * Union of European Football Associations (UEFA; 55 members) In total, FIFA recognizes 211 national associations and their associated men's national teams as well as 129 women's national teams; see the list of national football teams and their respective
country codes A country code is a short alphanumeric identification code for countries and dependent areas. Its primary use is in data processing and communications. Several identification systems have been developed. The term ''country code'' frequently refe ...
. 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 The special administrative regions (SAR) of the People's Republic of China are one of four types of Province-level divisions of China, province-level divisions of the China, People's Republic of China directly under the control of its S ...
:
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
and
Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...
. On 28 February 2022, FIFA suspended Russia from all competitions due to controversy surrounding Russia's invasion of Ukraine. 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. The
FIFA Men's World Rankings The FIFA Men's World Ranking is a ranking system for men's national teams in association football, first introduced in December 1992. The men's teams of the member nations of FIFA, football's world governing body, are ranked based on their gam ...
are updated monthly and rank each team based on their performance in international competitions, qualifiers, and friendly matches. There is also a world ranking for women's football, amended on a quarterly schedule.


Laws and governance

FIFA's
headquarters Headquarters (often referred to as HQ) notes the location where most or all of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. The term is used in a wide variety of situations, including private sector corporations, non-profits, mil ...
is in
Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...
, and it is an association established under the law of Switzerland. FIFA's supreme body is the
FIFA Congress The FIFA Congress is the supreme legislative body of the International Association Football Federation (French: Fédération Internationale de Football Association), commonly known by the acronym FIFA . FIFA is the international governing body of ...
, 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 World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...
. The FIFA Council – formerly called the FIFA Executive Committee – is the organization'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 in by the general secretariat, with its staff of approximately 280 members.
Gianni Infantino Giovanni Vincenzo Infantino (); (born 23 March 1970) is a Swiss-Italian Association football, football Administrator (business), administrator and the president of the FIFA, Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) since 26 Febr ...
is the current president, elected on 26 February 2016 at an extraordinary FIFA Congress session after former president
Sepp Blatter Joseph Sepp Blatter (born Josef Blatter; 10 March 1936) is a Swiss former association football, football administrator who served as the list of Presidents of FIFA, eighth president of FIFA from 1998 to 2015. He has been banned from participatin ...
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 FIFA Emergency Committee, the
FIFA Ethics Committee The FIFA Ethics Committee is one of FIFA's three judicial bodies. It is organized in two chambers, the ''Investigatory Chamber'' and the ''Adjudicatory Chamber''. Its duties are regulated by several official documents, most importantly the ''FIFA ...
, the Finance Committee, the Disciplinary Committee, and the Referees Committee. The FIFA Emergency Committee deals with all matters requiring immediate settlement in the time frame between the regular meetings of the FIFA Council. The Emergency Committee consists of the FIFA president as well as one member from each confederation. Emergency Committee decisions made are immediately put into legal effect, although they need to be ratified at the next Executive Committee meeting.


Administrative cost

FIFA publishes its results according to
International Financial Reporting Standards International Financial Reporting Standards, commonly called IFRS, are accounting standards issued by the IFRS Foundation and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). They constitute a standardised way of describing the company's fi ...
. 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 ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...
'' 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 The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...
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 The International Football Association Board (IFAB) is an international self-regulatory body of association football that is known for determining the Laws of the Game, the regulations for the gameplay of football. It was founded in 1886 in or ...
(IFAB). FIFA has members on its board (four representatives); the other four are provided by the football associations of the United Kingdom:
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
,
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
,
Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
, and
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
, 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 The International Football Association Board (IFAB) is an international self-regulatory body of association football that is known for determining the Laws of the Game, the regulations for the gameplay of football. It was founded in 1886 in or ...
"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 ootballwith errors. The television companies will have the right to say he refereewas 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 referee The video assistant referee (VAR) is a Assistant referee (association football), match official in association football who assists the referee by reviewing decisions using video footage and providing advice to the referee based on those revi ...
s (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 The International Football Association Board (IFAB) is an international self-regulatory body of association football that is known for determining the Laws of the Game, the regulations for the gameplay of football. It was founded in 1886 in or ...
(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 The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...
between England and Germany, where a shot by Englishman
Frank Lampard Frank James Lampard (born 20 June 1978) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the manager of English club Coventry City. Widely regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time, one of Chelsea's greates ...
, 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.


Controversy

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. Accusations included bribery related to the awarding of hosting rights for the 2018 World Cup to
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
and the 2022 World Cup to
Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...
. On 27 May 2015, the U.S. Department of Justice indicted 14 FIFA officials and marketing executives, charging them with receiving approximately $150 million in bribes over two decades. The scandal led to the arrest of several high-ranking FIFA officials, including vice presidents Jeffrey Webb and Eugenio Figueredo. Although FIFA president Sepp Blatter was not initially named in the criminal investigation, he resigned shortly after being re-elected for a fifth term. Further investigations uncovered additional corruption, resulting in suspensions and bans for several FIFA executives, including Blatter,
Michel Platini Michel François Platini (; born 21 June 1955) is a French association football, football Administrator (business), administrator and former player and manager. Regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time, Platini won the Ballon d'O ...
, and Jérôme Valcke. The scandal highlighted an organizational culture within FIFA characterized by greed, secrecy, and corruption, severely damaging its reputation and prompting widespread calls for significant reforms in the governance of international football. On 28 February 2022, due to the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
and by a recommendation by the
International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...
(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. Some observers, while approving of the boycott of Russia, have pointed out that FIFA did not boycott
Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein (28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician and revolutionary who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 1979 until Saddam Hussein statue destruction, his overthrow in 2003 during the 2003 invasion of Ira ...
's
Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
as an aggressor during the
Iran–Iraq War The Iran–Iraq War, also known as the First Gulf War, was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. Active hostilities began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for nearly eight years, unti ...
, Saudi Arabia for its military intervention in Yemen, Qatar for its
human rights violations Human rights are universally recognized moral principles or norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both national and international laws. These rights are considered inherent and inalienable, meaning t ...
, or the United States for the actions of the US military during the
Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...
. FIFA previously banned Indonesia due to government intervention within the team. FIFA requires members to play "with no influence from third parties". On 23 October 2024, a new controversy came up as allegations against FIFA were made by players from several countries claiming the organization did not pay them agreed sums of money. The total reaching with sums reaching up to £3m. According to reports Four hundred and twenty players did not get paid as agreed with FIFA.


Recognition and awards

FIFA holds an annual awards ceremony, The Best FIFA Football Awards since
2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...
, 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. In 2000, FIFA presented two awards,
FIFA Club of the Century FIFA Club of the Century was an award presented by FIFA to decide the best List of association football clubs, football club of the 20th century. Real Madrid C.F., Real Madrid was the winner of the award with 42.35% of the vote, announced at the ...
and FIFA Player of the Century, to decide the greatest football club and player of the 20th century.
Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...
was the club winner, while
Diego Maradona Diego Armando Maradona Franco (30 October 196025 November 2020) was an Argentine professional association football, football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two ...
and
Pelé Edson Arantes do Nascimento (; 23 October 1940 – 29 December 2022), better known by his nickname Pelé (), was a Brazilian professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. Widely reg ...
were the joint player's winners.


FIFA variants

#
Association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
: Recognized 1904 (men), 1988 (women) #
Futsal Futsal is a variant of association football played between two teams of five players each on a court smaller than a football pitch. Its rules are based on the Laws of the Game (association football), Laws of the Game of association football, and i ...
: Recognized 1986 (men), 2023 (women) #
Esports Esports (), short for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games. Esports often takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players, played individually or as teams. ...
: Recognized 2004 #
Beach soccer Beach soccer, also known as beach football, sand football or sand soccer, is a variant of association football played on a beach or some form of sand between two teams of five players each. Association football has long been played informally on ...
: Recognized 2005 (men), 2019 (women)


Tournaments


National teams

Men's *
FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...
*
FIFA U-20 World Cup The FIFA U-20 World Cup is the biennial football world championship tournament for FIFA members' men's national teams with players under the age of 20. The competition has been staged every two years since the inaugural tournament in 1977 when i ...
*
FIFA U-17 World Cup The FIFA U-17 World Cup, founded as the FIFA U-16 World Championship, later changed to U-17 in 1991 and to its current name in 2007, is the annual world championship of association football for male players under the age of 17 organized by ''Fé ...
* FIFA Futsal World Cup * Men's Youth Olympic Futsal Tournament (U-18) *
FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup The FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup is an international beach soccer competition contested by the national teams of the member associations of FIFA, the sport's global governing body. The tournament was preceded by the Beach Soccer World Championshi ...
*
FIFA Arab Cup The FIFA Arab Cup (), or Arab Cup, is an international association football competition organized by FIFA. It is held every four years with the participation of senior men's national teams of the Union of Arab Football Associations (UAFA) ...
senior teams of the UAFA (
Arab world The Arab world ( '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, comprises a large group of countries, mainly located in West Asia and North Africa. While the majority of people in ...
) * FIFA Series (friendly matches) Women's *
FIFA Women's World Cup The FIFA Women's World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the senior list of women's national association football teams, women's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internationale de Footb ...
*
FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup The FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup is an international association football tournament, organized by FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association), for national teams of women under the age of 20. The tournament is held biennially. ...
*
FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup The FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup is an annual (biennial until 2024) international women's association football tournament for female players under the age of 17. It is organized by ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (FIFA) ...
* FIFA Futsal Women's World Cup * Women's Youth Olympic Futsal Tournament (U-18)


Clubs

Men's *
FIFA Club World Cup The FIFA Club World Cup (FIFA CWC) is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (FIFA), the sport's global sports governing body, governing body. The compe ...
* FIFA Intercontinental Cup * FIFA Youth Cup Women's * FIFA Women's Club World Cup * FIFA Women's Champions Cup * Blue Stars/FIFA Youth Cup


eSports

Individual * FIFAe World Cup Team * FIFAe Club World Cup ( FIFAe Club Series) * FIFAe Nations Cup ( FIFAe Nations Series) * FIFAe Continental Cup


Former tournaments

*
FIFA Confederations Cup The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six continental championships ( AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBO ...


One-time Tournaments

* FIFA World Champions' Gold Cup * FIFA Women's Invitation Tournament


Current title holders


eSports


FIFA World Rankings

{{Further, FIFA Men's World Ranking, FIFA Women's World Ranking {{col-begin {{col-2


Men's

The following table has the Top 20 ranked men's football countries worldwide. {{Sports rankings table, FIFA World Rankings, 1, 20 , style=margin-left:1em; , caption= , header1= , header2=Top 20 rankings as of INSERT_UPDATE_DATEINSERT_REFERENCE , footer1=*Change from INSERT_LAST_DATE , footer2=Complete rankings at FIFA.com
/small> {{col-break {{col-2


Women's

The following table has the Top 20 ranked women's football countries in the world. {{Sports rankings table, FIFA Women's World Rankings, 1, 20 , style=margin-left:1em; , caption= , header1= , header2=Top 20 rankings as of INSERT_UPDATE_DATEINSERT_REFERENCE , footer1=*Change from INSERT_LAST_DATE , footer2=Complete rankings at FIFA.com
/small> {{col-end


Sponsors of FIFA

{{Updated, October 2024


FIFA Partners

*
Adidas Adidas AG (; stylized in all lowercase since 1949) is a German athletic apparel and footwear corporation headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany. It is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe, and the second largest in the ...
* Aramco *
Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...
* HyundaiKia * Lenovo * Qatar Airways * Visa Inc., Visa


FIFA+

{{Infobox website , name = FIFA+ , logo = FIFA+.svg , type = Over-the-top media service, OTT streaming platform , language = English language, English , location_city = Paris , location_country = France , country_of_origin = France , area_served = France , owner = FIFA , url = {{URL, https://plus.fifa.com/ , registration = Required , launch_date = {{date, df=no, 2022 , current_status = Active In April 2022 FIFA launched FIFA+, an Over-the-top media service, 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 Football Confederation, Oceania including the OFC Champions League and the OFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament. They also have rights to the New Zealand Football, New Zealand domestic competitions and national teams.


Competitions

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


International

* 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 * 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


National

* {{Flagicon, Albania Kategoria Superiore * {{Flagicon, Albania Kategoria e Parë * {{Flagicon, Albania Albanian Cup * {{Flagicon, Algeria Algerian Ligue 2 * {{Flagicon, Algeria Algerian Cup * {{Flagicon, Algeria Algerian Women's D1 National Championship * {{Flagicon, Aruba Aruban Division di Honor * {{Flagicon, Anguilla AFA Senior Male League * {{Flagicon, Azerbaijan Azerbaijan First League * {{Flagicon, Azerbaijan Azerbaijan Second League * {{Flagicon, Bahamas BFA Senior League * {{Flagicon, Barbados Barbados Premier League * {{Flagicon, Benin Benin Premier League, Benin Super Ligue Pro * {{Flagicon, Bermuda Bermudian Premier Division * {{Flagicon, Bhutan Bhutan Premier League * {{Flagicon, British Virgin Islands BVIFA National Football League * {{Flagicon, Burkina Faso Burkinabé Premier League * {{Flagicon, Burundi Burundi Ligue A * {{Flagicon, Burundi Burundian Cup * {{Flagicon, Cape Verde Cape Verdean Football Championship * {{Flagicon, Canada Futsal Canadian Championship * {{Flagicon, Cayman Islands Cayman Islands Premier League * {{Flagicon, Central African Republic Central African Republic League * {{Flagicon, Comoros Comoros Premier League * {{Flagicon, Djibouti Djibouti Premier League * {{Flagicon, Dominica Dominica Premier League * {{Flagicon, Equatorial Guinea Equatoguinean Primera División * {{Flagicon, Eswatini Premier League of Eswatini * {{Flagicon, Ethiopia Ethiopian Higher League * {{Flagicon, Fiji Fiji Premier League * {{Flagicon, Malawi Super League of Malawi * {{Flagicon, Malawi FDH Bank Knockout Cup * {{Flagicon, Malawi Malawi FAM Charity Shield * {{Flagicon, France Championnat National * {{Flagicon, Gabon Gabon Championnat National D1 * {{Flagicon, Gambia GFA League First Division, GFA League * {{Flagicon, Grenada GFA Premier League * {{Flagicon, Guyana GFF Elite League * {{Flagicon, India Gujarat Super League * {{Flagicon, India Bandodkar Trophy * {{Flagicon, India Santosh Trophy * {{flagicon, ITA Serie C, Serie C Now * {{flagicon, ITA Coppa Italia Serie C * {{Flagicon, Ivory Coast Ligue 2 (Ivory Coast), Ligue 2 * {{Flagicon, Japan WE League Cup * {{Flagicon, Laos Lao League 1 * {{Flagicon, Lebanon Lebanese Premier League * {{Flagicon, Lebanon Lebanese Super Cup * {{Flagicon, Lebanon Lebanese Women's Football League * {{Flagicon, Lesotho Lesotho Premier League * {{Flagicon, Liberia LFA First Division * {{Flagicon, Liberia Liberian FA Cup * {{Flagicon, Lithuania A Lyga * {{Flagicon, Lithuania I Lyga * {{Flagicon, Macau Liga de Elite * {{Flagicon, Mali Malian Première Division * {{Flagicon, Mali Malian Cup * {{Flagicon, Mali Super Coupe National du Mali * {{Flagicon, Mauritania Super D1 * {{Flagicon, Mauritania Mauritanian President's Cup * {{Flagicon, Mauritius Mauritian Premier League * {{Flagicon, Mauritius Mauritian Cup * {{Flagicon, Mauritius Mauritian Republic Cup * {{Flagicon, Morocco Moroccan Women's Championship D1 * {{flagicon, NZ New Zealand National League, National League * {{flagicon, NZ Chatham Cup * {{flagicon, NZ Kate Sheppard Cup * {{Flagicon, Nicaragua Liga Primera de Nicaragua * {{Flagicon, Niger Super Ligue (Niger) * {{Flagicon, Niger Niger Cup * {{Flagicon, Oman Oman First Division League * {{Flagicon, Oman Sultan Qaboos Cup * {{Flagicon, Oman Oman Super Cup * {{Flagicon, Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea Premier Soccer League * {{Flagicon, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines SVGFF Premier Division * {{Flagicon, San Marino Campionato Sammarinese di Calcio, Campionato Sammarinese * {{Flagicon, San Marino Coppa Titano * {{Flagicon, Seychelles Seychelles Premier League * {{Flagicon, Sierra Leone Sierra Leone National Premier League * {{Flagicon, Solomon Islands Solomon Islands S-League * {{Flagicon, South Sudan South Sudan Premier League * {{Flagicon, Saint Kitts and Nevis SKNFA Premier League * {{Flagicon, Suriname Suriname Major League * {{Flagicon, Togo Togolese Championnat National * {{Flagicon, Trinidad and Tobago TT Premier Football League * {{Flagicon, Tunisia Tunisian Women's Championship * {{Flagicon, Turks and Caicos Islands Provo Premier League * {{Flagicon, UAE UAE First Division League * {{Flagicon, UAE UAE President's Cup * {{Flagicon, Venezuela Venezuelan Segunda División, Liga FUTVE2


Channels

* TrueVsions Now (FIFA+) 634


Corruption

{{Further, 2015 FIFA corruption case In May 2006, British investigative reporter Andrew Jennings' book ''Foul! The Secret World of FIFA: Bribes, Vote-Rigging, and Ticket Scandals'' (HarperCollins) caused controversy within the football world by detailing an alleged international cash-for-contracts scandal following the collapse of FIFA's marketing partner International Sport and Leisure (ISL) and revealed how some football officials had been urged to secretly repay the sweeteners they received. The book also alleged that vote-rigging had occurred in the fight for
Sepp Blatter Joseph Sepp Blatter (born Josef Blatter; 10 March 1936) is a Swiss former association football, football administrator who served as the list of Presidents of FIFA, eighth president of FIFA from 1998 to 2015. He has been banned from participatin ...
's continued control of FIFA as the organization's president. Shortly after the release of ''Foul!'' a BBC ''Panorama (TV series), Panorama'' exposé by Jennings and BBC producer Roger Corke, screened on 11 June 2006, reported that Blatter was being investigated by Swiss police over his role in a secret deal to repay more than £1m worth of bribery, bribes pocketed by football officials. David Triesman, Baron Triesman, Lord Triesman, the former chairman of the English Football Association, described FIFA as an organization that "behaves like a mafia family," highlighting the organization's "decades-long traditions of bribes, bungs, and corruption". All testimonies offered in the ''Panorama'' exposé were provided through a disguised voice, appearance, or both, save one: Mel Brennan, a former CONCACAF official, became the first high-level football insider to go public with substantial allegations of corruption, nonfeasance, and malfeasance by CONCACAF and FIFA leadership. Brennan—the highest-level African-American in the history of world football governance—joined Jennings, Trinidadian journalist Lisana Liburd, and many others in exposing allegedly inappropriate allocations of money by CONCACAF and drew connections between ostensible CONCACAF criminality and similar behaviours at FIFA. Since then, and in the light of fresh allegations of corruption by FIFA in late 2010, both Jennings and Brennan remain highly critical of FIFA. Brennan has called directly for an alternative to FIFA to be considered by the stakeholders of the sport worldwide. In a further ''Panorama'' exposé broadcast on 29 November 2010, Jennings alleged that three senior FIFA officials, Nicolas Leoz, Issa Hayatou and Ricardo Teixeira, had been paid huge bribes by ISL between 1989 and 1999, which FIFA had failed to investigate. Jennings claimed they appeared on a list of 175 bribes paid by ISL, totalling about $100 million. A former ISL executive said there were suspicions within the company that they were only awarded the marketing contract for successive World Cups by paying bribes to FIFA officials. The program also alleged that another current official, Jack Warner (football executive), Jack Warner, has been repeatedly involved in reselling World Cup tickets to touts; Blatter said that FIFA had not investigated the allegation because it had not been told about it via 'official channels.' ''Panorama'' also alleged that FIFA requires nations bidding to host the World Cup to agree to implement special laws, including a blanket tax exemption for FIFA and its corporate sponsors and limitation of workers rights. Contrary to FIFA's demands, these conditions were revealed by the Dutch government, resulting in them being told by FIFA that their bid could be adversely affected. Following Jennings' earlier investigations, he was banned from all FIFA press conferences for reasons he claimed had not been made clear. The accused officials failed to answer questions about his latest allegations verbally or by letter. Prime Minister David Cameron and Andy Anson, head of England's World Cup bid, criticized the timing of the broadcast three days before FIFA decided on the host for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, because it might damage England's bid; the voters included officials accused by the program. In June 2011, it came to light that the
International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...
had started inquiry proceedings against FIFA honorary president João Havelange into claims of bribery. ''Panorama'' alleged that Havelange accepted a $1 million 'bung' in 1997 from ISL. The IOC stated that it "takes all allegations of corruption very seriously, and we would always ask for any evidence of wrongdoing involving any IOC members to be passed to our ethics commission". In a 2014 interview, American sportswriter Dave Zirin said that corruption is endemic to FIFA leadership and that the organization should be abolished for the game's good. He said that currently, FIFA is in charge of both monitoring corruption in association football matches and marketing and selling the sport, but that two "separate" organizational bodies are needed: an organizational body that monitors corruption and match-fixing and the like and an organization that's responsible for marketing and sponsorships and selling the sport. Zirin said the idea of having a single organization responsible for both seems highly ineffective and detrimental to the sport. In May 2015, 14 people were arrested, including nine FIFA officials, after being accused of corruption. In the 2022 World Cup bid, Qatar was honoured to host the World Cup. Since then it has been discovered that Qatar paid as much as $200 billion to host the World Cup. This information was discovered by the Tass news agency in Russia.


Guilty pleas

Between 2013 and 2015 four individuals, and two sports television rights corporations pleaded guilty to United States financial misconduct charges. The pleas of Chuck Blazer, José Hawilla, Daryan Warner, Darrell Warner, Traffic Group and Traffic Sports USA were unsealed in May 2015. In another 2015 case, Singapore also imposed a 6-year "harshest sentence ever received for match-fixing" on match-fixer Eric Ding who had bribed three Lebanese FIFA football officials with prostitutes as an inducement to fix future matches that they would officiate, as well as perverting the course of justice.


Indictments and arrests

Fourteen FIFA officials and marketing executives were indicted by the United States Department of Justice in May 2015. The officials were 2015 arrests of FIFA officials, arrested in Switzerland and are in the process of extradition to the US. Specific charges (brought under the RICO act) include
wire fraud Mail fraud and wire fraud are terms used in the United States to describe the use of a physical (e.g., the U.S. Postal Service) or electronic (e.g., a phone, a telegram, a fax, or the Internet) mail system to defraud another, and are U.S. fede ...
,
racketeering Racketeering is a type of organized crime in which the perpetrators set up a coercion, coercive, fraud, fraudulent, extortionary, or otherwise illegal coordinated scheme or operation (a "racket") to repeatedly or consistently collect a profit. ...
, and
money laundering Money laundering is the process of illegally concealing the origin of money obtained from illicit activities (often known as dirty money) such as drug trafficking, sex work, terrorism, corruption, and embezzlement, and converting the funds i ...
. "Swiss authorities say they have also opened a separate criminal investigation into FIFA's operations pertaining to the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bids". FIFA's top officials were arrested at a hotel in Switzerland on suspicion of receiving bribes totalling $100m (£65m). The US Department of Justice stated that nine FIFA officials and four executives of sports management companies were arrested and accused of over $150m in bribes. The UK Shadow Home Secretary and Labour Member of Parliament, Andy Burnham, stated in May 2015 that England should boycott the 2018 World Cup against corruption in FIFA and military aggression by Russia.


2018 and 2022 World Cup bids

{{further, 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids, Garcia Report FIFA's choice to award the 2018 World Cup to Russia and the 2022 World Cup to Qatar has been widely criticized by media. It has been alleged that some FIFA inside sources insist that the Russian kickbacks of cash and gifts given to FIFA executive members were enough to secure the Russian 2018 bid weeks before the result was announced. Sepp Blatter was widely criticized in the media for giving a warning about the "evils of the media" in a speech to FIFA executive committee members shortly before they voted on the hosting of the 2018 World Cup, a reference to ''
The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...
'' exposés, and the ''Panorama (TV series), Panorama'' FIFA's Dirty Secrets, investigation. Two members of FIFA's executive committee were banned from all football-related activity in November 2010 for allegedly offering to sell their votes to undercover newspaper reporters. In early May 2011, a British parliamentary inquiry into why England failed to secure the 2018 finals was told by a member of parliament, Damian Collins, that there was evidence from ''The Sunday Times'' newspaper that Issa Hayatou of Cameroon and Jacques Anouma of Ivory Coast were paid by Qatar. Qatar has categorically denied the allegations, as have Hayatou and Anouma. FIFA president Blatter said, {{as of, 2011, May, 23, lc=y, that the British newspaper ''
The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...
'' has agreed to bring its whistle-blowing source to meet senior FIFA officials, who will decide whether to order a new investigation into alleged World Cup bidding corruption. "[The ''Sunday Times''] are happy, they agreed that they will bring this whistleblower here to Zürich and then we will have a discussion, an investigation of this", Blatter said. Specifically, the whistle-blower claims that FIFA executive committee members Issa Hayatou and Jacques Anouma were paid $1.5 million to vote for Qatar. The emirate's bid beat the United States in a final round of voting last December. Blatter did not rule out reopening the 2022 vote if corruption could be proved, but urged taking the matter "step by step". The FIFA president said his organization is "anxiously awaiting" more evidence before asking its ethics committee to examine allegations made in Britain's Parliament in early May 2011. Hayatou, who is from Cameroon, leads the
Confederation of African Football The Confederation of African Football (CAF) is the administrative and controlling body for association football, beach soccer, and futsal in Africa. It was established on 8 February 1957 at the ''Grand Hotel'' in Khartoum, Sudan. At the FIFA Co ...
and is a FIFA vice-president. Anouma is president of Ivorian Football Federation. The whistle-blower said Qatar agreed to pay a third African voter, Amos Adamu, for his support. The Nigerian was later suspended from voting after a FIFA ethics court ruled he solicited bribes from undercover Sunday Times reporters posing as lobbyists. Blatter said the newspaper and its whistle-blower would meet with FIFA secretary general, Jérôme Valcke, and legal director, Marco Villiger. Allegations against FIFA officials have also been made to the UK Parliament by David Triesman, the former head of England's bid and the English Football Association. Triesman told the lawmakers that four long-standing FIFA executive committee members—Jack Warner (football executive), Jack Warner, Nicolás Leoz, Ricardo Teixeira and Worawi Makudi—engaged in "improper and unethical" conduct in the 2018 bidding, which was won by Russia. All six FIFA voters have denied wrongdoing. On 28 September 2015,
Sepp Blatter Joseph Sepp Blatter (born Josef Blatter; 10 March 1936) is a Swiss former association football, football administrator who served as the list of Presidents of FIFA, eighth president of FIFA from 1998 to 2015. He has been banned from participatin ...
suggested that the 2018 World Cup being awarded to Russia was planned before the voting, and that the 2022 World Cup would have then been awarded to the United States. However, this plan changed after the election ballot, and the 2022 World Cup was awarded to Qatar instead of the US. According to leaked documents seen by ''The Sunday Times'', Qatari state-run television channel Al Jazeera secretly offered $400 million to FIFA, for broadcasting rights, just 21 days before FIFA announced that Qatar would hold the 2022 World Cup.{{cite news , url=https://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Qatar-offered-FIFA-880-million-for-hosting-the-2022-World-Cup-582998 , title=Qatar offered FIFA $880 million for hosting the 2022 World Cup - report, first1= Alon , last1=Einhorn , work=The Jerusalem Post , date=10 March 2019 , access-date=10 March 2019 , archive-date=11 March 2019 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190311064625/https://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Qatar-offered-FIFA-880-million-for-hosting-the-2022-World-Cup-582998 , url-status=live On 17 July 2012, in the wake of announced anti-corruption reforms by Sepp Blatter, the president of the FIFA,{{cite news, url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2012/jul/17/fifa-michael-j-garcia-football-corruption, title=Fifa appoints Michael J Garcia to investigate football corruption, agency=Associated Press , date=17 July 2012 , website=The Guardian , url-status=live , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231007151341/https://www.theguardian.com/football/2012/jul/17/fifa-michael-j-garcia-football-corruption , archive-date= 7 October 2023 the organization appointed US lawyer Michael J. Garcia as the chairman of the investigative chamber of
FIFA Ethics Committee The FIFA Ethics Committee is one of FIFA's three judicial bodies. It is organized in two chambers, the ''Investigatory Chamber'' and the ''Adjudicatory Chamber''. Its duties are regulated by several official documents, most importantly the ''FIFA ...
, while German judge Hans-Joachim Eckert was appointed as the chairman of the Ethics Committee's adjudication chamber.{{cite web, title=FIFA unveils new crime fighting duo to tackle corruption in soccer, url=https://edition.cnn.com/2012/07/17/sport/football/football-fifa-ethics-corruption/, publisher=CNN, date=17 July 2012 , url-status=live , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231016094614/https://edition.cnn.com/2012/07/17/sport/football/football-fifa-ethics-corruption/ , archive-date= 16 October 2023 In August 2012, Garcia declared his intention to investigate the bidding process and decision to respectively award the right to host the 2018 and 2022
FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...
to
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
and
Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...
by the FIFA Executive Committee. Garcia delivered his subsequent 350-page Garcia Report, report in September 2014, and Eckert then announced that it would not be made public for legal reasons.{{cite news, url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/sep/24/michael-garcia-fifa-investigation-public-world-cup, title=FIFA prosecutor Michael Garcia calls for World Cup report to be made public, work=The Guardian, date=24 September 2014 , first1=Owen , last1=Gibson , url-status=live , archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231004100435/https://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/sep/24/michael-garcia-fifa-investigation-public-world-cup , archive-date= 4 October 2023 On 13 November 2014, Eckert released a 42-page summary of his findings after reviewing Garcia's report. The summary cleared both Russia and Qatar of any wrongdoing during the bidding for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups,{{cite news , date=13 November 2014 , title=FIFA corruption report: Who is to blame and what happens now? , url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/30042309 , agency=BBC , first1=Richard , last1=Conway , url-status=live , archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20221130112522/https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/30042309 , archive-date= 30 November 2022 leaving Russia and Qatar free to stage their respective World Cups.{{cite news, date=13 November 2014 , title=FIFA under fire after report on Qatar, Russia , url=http://bigstory.ap.org/article/4de5fea12fc44b86bd7221bb429f360f/fifa-clears-russia-and-qatar-host-world-cup , agency=Associated Press , first1=Graham , last1=Dunbar , url-status=dead , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141116023958/http://bigstory.ap.org/article/4de5fea12fc44b86bd7221bb429f360f/fifa-clears-russia-and-qatar-host-world-cup , archive-date=16 November 2014 FIFA welcomed "the fact that a degree of closure has been reached", while the Associated Press wrote that the Eckert summary "was denounced by critics as a wiktionary:whitewash#Verb, whitewash". Hours after the Eckert summary was released, Garcia himself criticized it for being "materially incomplete" with "erroneous representations of the facts and conclusions", while declaring his intention to appeal to FIFA's Appeal Committee. On 16 December 2014, FIFA's Appeal Committee dismissed Garcia's appeal against the Eckert summary as "not admissible". FIFA also stated that Eckert's summary was "neither legally binding nor appealable". A day later, Garcia resigned from his role as FIFA ethics investigator in protest of FIFA's conduct, citing a "lack of leadership" and lost confidence in the independence of Eckert from FIFA. In June 2015, Swiss authorities claimed the report was of "little value". In November 2022, the FIFA officials told players not to get involved in politics but focus on sports when they are in Qatar. A few weeks earlier, the football associations and players of Denmark and Australia criticized Qatar for this.


2011 FIFA presidential election

FIFA announced on 25 May 2011 that it had opened the investigation to examine the conduct of four officials—Mohamed Bin Hammam and Jack Warner, along with Caribbean Football Union (CFU) officials Debbie Minguell and Jason Sylvester—in relation to claims made by executive committee member, Chuck Blazer. Blazer, who was at the time, the general secretary of the
CONCACAF The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football, abbreviated as CONCACAF ( ; typeset for branding purposes since 2018 as Concacaf), is one of FIFA's six continental governing bodies for association football. Its 4 ...
confederation, has alleged that violations were committed under the FIFA code of ethics during a meeting organized by Bin Hammam and Warner on 10 and 11 May—the same time Lord Triesman had accused Warner of demanding money for a World Cup 2018 vote—in relation to the 2011 FIFA presidential election, in which Bin Hammam, who also played a key role in the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup bid, allegedly offered financial incentives for votes cast in his favour during the presidential election. As a result of the investigation both Bin Hammam and Warner were suspended. Warner reacted to his suspension by questioning Blatter's conduct and adding that FIFA secretary general, Jérôme Valcke, had told him via e-mail that Qatar had bought the 2022 World Cup.{{cite news , url=http://edition.cnn.com/2011/SPORT/football/06/02/football.fifa.blatter.kissinger/ , title=Blatter tips Henry Kissinger for role on FIFA 'Solutions Committee' , publisher=CNN , date=2 June 2011 , access-date=9 July 2011 , archive-date=22 July 2013 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130722130535/http://edition.cnn.com/2011/SPORT/football/06/02/football.fifa.blatter.kissinger/ , url-status=dead Valcke subsequently issued a statement denying he had suggested it was bribery, saying instead that the country had "used its financial muscle to lobby for support". Qatar officials denied any impropriety. Bin Hammam also responded by writing to FIFA, protesting unfair treatment in suspension by the FIFA Ethics Committee and FIFA administration. Further evidence emerged of alleged corruption. On 30 May 2011, Fred Lunn, vice-president of the Bahamas Football Association, said that he was given $40,000 in cash as an incitement to vote for FIFA presidential candidate, Mohamed bin Hammam. In addition, on 11 June 2011 Louis Giskus, president of the Surinamese Football Association, alleged that he was given $40,000 in cash for "development projects" as an incentive to vote for Bin Hammam.


Response to allegations

After being re-elected as president of FIFA, Sepp Blatter responded to the allegations by promising to reform FIFA in wake of the bribery scandal, with Danny Jordaan, CEO of the
2010 FIFA World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...
in South Africa, saying there is great expectation for reform. Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger is being tipped for a role on the newly proposed 'Solutions Committee', and former Netherlands national football team player Johan Cruyff was also being linked with a role.
UEFA The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...
secretary-general
Gianni Infantino Giovanni Vincenzo Infantino (); (born 23 March 1970) is a Swiss-Italian Association football, football Administrator (business), administrator and the president of the FIFA, Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) since 26 Febr ...
said he hopes for "concrete" measures to be taken by the world game's authority. Saying that "the UEFA executive committee has taken note of the will of FIFA to take concrete and effective measures for good governance ... [and is] following the situation closely." IOC president Jacques Rogge commented on the situation by saying that he believes FIFA "can emerge stronger" from its worst-ever crisis, stating that "I will not point a finger and lecture ... I am sure FIFA can emerge stronger and from within". Several of FIFA's partners and sponsors have raised concerns about the allegations of corruption, including Coca-Cola,
Adidas Adidas AG (; stylized in all lowercase since 1949) is a German athletic apparel and footwear corporation headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany. It is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe, and the second largest in the ...
, Emirates (airline), Emirates and Visa Inc., Visa.{{cite news , url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/leisure/8548440/Fifa-corruption-claims-What-the-sponsors-are-saying.html , archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/leisure/8548440/Fifa-corruption-claims-What-the-sponsors-are-saying.html , archive-date=10 January 2022 , url-access=subscription , url-status=live , title=Fifa corruption claims: What the sponsors are saying , newspaper=Telegraph , date=1 June 2011 , access-date=9 July 2011 , location=London{{cbignore Coca-Cola raised concerns by saying "the current allegations being raised are distressing and bad for the sport"; with Adidas saying "the negative tenor of the public debate around Fifa at the moment is neither good for football nor for Fifa and its partners"; moreover Emirates raised its concerns by saying "we hope that these issues will be resolved as soon as possible"; and Visa adding "the current situation is clearly not good for the game and we ask that Fifa take all necessary steps to resolve the concerns that have been raised." Australian Sports Minister Mark Arbib said it was clear FIFA needed to change, saying "there is no doubt there needs to be reform of FIFA. This is something that we're hearing worldwide", with Australian Senator Nick Xenophon accusing FIFA of "scamming" the country out of the A$46 million (US$35 million) it spent on the Australia 2022 FIFA World Cup bid, saying that "until the investigation into FIFA has been completed, Australia must hold off spending any more taxpayers' money on any future World Cup bids." Theo Zwanziger, president of the
German Football Association The German Football Association ( ; DFB ) is the governing body of Association football, football, futsal, and beach soccer in Germany. A founding member of both FIFA and UEFA, the DFB has jurisdiction for the German football league system and ...
, also called on FIFA to re-examine the awarding of the 2022 World Cup to Qatar. Transparency International, which had called on FIFA to postpone the election pending a full independent investigation, renewed its call on FIFA to change its governance structure. Moreover, former Argentine football player
Diego Maradona Diego Armando Maradona Franco (30 October 196025 November 2020) was an Argentine professional association football, football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two ...
was critical of FIFA in light of the corruption scandal, comparing members of the board to dinosaurs. He said "Fifa is a big museum. They are dinosaurs who do not want to relinquish power. It's always going to be the same." In October 2011, Dick Pound criticized the organization, saying, "FIFA has fallen far short of a credible demonstration that it recognizes the many problems it faces, that it has the will to solve them, that it is willing to be transparent about what it is doing and what it finds, and that its conduct in the future will be such that the public can be confident in the governance of the sport."


2018 revision of code of ethics

In 2018, FIFA revised its code of ethics to remove corruption as one of the enumerated bases of ethical violations.{{cite news , last=Harris , first=Rob , title=Keep bribes quiet for 10 years, FIFA won't punish you , url=https://apnews.com/d165d80179aa4117a260a1a5e65eafb6 , access-date=14 August 2018 , work=Associated Press , date=14 August 2018 , archive-date=14 August 2018 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180814012303/https://apnews.com/d165d80179aa4117a260a1a5e65eafb6 , url-status=live It retained bribery, misappropriation of funds and manipulation of competitions as offences, but added a statute of limitation clause that those offences could not be pursued after a ten-year period. The revision also made it an offence to make public statements of a defamatory nature against FIFA. Alexandra Wrage, a former member of the FIFA governance committee and an expert in anti-bribery compliance, said that of the revision that "the real value to FIFA is the chilling effect this will have on critics". In October 2024 more than 100 female footballers sent an open letter to FIFA demanding the organization to end its sponsor deal with Saudi oil company Aramco, due to the continuous human rights violations, women's rights abuses and criminalisation of homosexuality in Saudi Arabia.{{Cite web , date=2024-10-21 , title=Women footballers urge Fifa to end Saudi sponsorship deal with Aramco , url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/c39l89dv90zo , access-date=2024-10-22 , website=BBC Sport , language=en-GB


See also

* Association football culture * Association football tactics and skills * FIFA (video game series) * List of association football clubs * List of association football competitions * List of association football stadiums by country * List of women's national association football teams * List of top association football goal scorers * List of women's association football clubs * Lists of men's association football players *
FIFA Congress The FIFA Congress is the supreme legislative body of the International Association Football Federation (French: Fédération Internationale de Football Association), commonly known by the acronym FIFA . FIFA is the international governing body of ...


Notes

{{Notelist


References

{{Reflist


Further reading

* Paul Darby, ''Africa, Football and Fifa: Politics, Colonialism and Resistance'' (Sport in the Global Society), Frank Cass Publishers 2002, {{ISBN, 0-7146-8029-X. * John Sugden, ''FIFA and the Contest For World Football'', Polity Press 1998, {{ISBN, 0-7456-1661-5. * Jim Trecker, Charles Miers, J. Brett Whitesell, ed., ''Women's Soccer: The Game and the Fifa World Cup'', Universe 2000, Revised Edition, {{ISBN, 0-7893-0527-5.


External links

{{Commons category {{Wikiquote * {{Official website
FIFA Museum website
{{FIFA navbox {{Navboxes , titlestyle = background:#326295; color:#ffffff , list= {{Association football {{International football {{International women's football {{International club football {{International women's club football {{National football teams {{International futsal {{International Club Futsal {{International Beach Soccer {{International Sports Federations {{Authority control {{Coord, 47, 22, 53, N, 8, 34, 28, E, region:CH-ZH_type:landmark, display=title {{Portal bar, Sports, Association football, Women's association football FIFA, 1904 establishments in France Association football governing bodies, * Organisations based in Zurich International sports organisations based in Switzerland Sports organizations established in 1904 Association of Summer Olympic International Federations, football