FIFA facts for kids
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Map of FIFA members by confederation
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| Founded | 21 May 1904 |
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| Founder | Robert Guérin |
| Founded at | Paris, France |
| Type | International sports federation |
| Headquarters | |
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Membership
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211 national associations |
| Gianni Infantino | |
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Senior vice-president
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Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa (AFC) |
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Vice-presidents
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Secretary general
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Mattias Grafström |
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Main organ
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FIFA Congress |
| Subsidiaries | |
| Affiliations | International Olympic Committee International Football Association Board |
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Staff
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700+ |
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (lit. International Federation of Association Football), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( FEE-fə), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to oversee international competition among the national associations of Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain (represented by Real Madrid CF), Sweden, and Switzerland. Headquartered in Zurich, 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 (Europe), CONCACAF (North & Central America and the Caribbean), OFC (Oceania), and CONMEBOL (South America).
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, 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 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.
Contents
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 (DFB) declared its intention to affiliate through a telegram.
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 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 in Manchester, England. The first World Cup was held in 1930 in Montevideo, Uruguay.
Identity
Flag
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| Use | Sport  |
|---|---|
| Proportion | 3:5 |
| Adopted | 2018 |
| Design | Blue field with a FIFA logo |
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.
Presidents of FIFA
| No | Name | Country | Took office | Left office | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Robert Guérin |  France |
23 May 1904 | 4 June 1906 | |
| 2 | Daniel Burley Woolfall |  England |
4 June 1906 | 24 October 1918 | Died in office |
| — | Cornelis August Wilhelm Hirschman |  Netherlands |
24 October 1918 | 1920 | Acting |
| 3 | Jules Rimet | France |
1 March 1921 | 21 June 1954 | |
| 4 | Rodolphe Seeldrayers |  Belgium |
21 June 1954 | 7 October 1955 | Died in office |
| 5 | Arthur Drewry | England |
9 June 1956 | 25 March 1961 | Died in office |
| — | Ernst Thommen |  Switzerland |
25 March 1961 | 28 September 1961 | Acting |
| 6 | Stanley Rous | England |
28 September 1961 | 8 May 1974 | |
| 7 | João Havelange |  Brazil |
8 May 1974 | 8 June 1998 | |
| 8 | Sepp Blatter | Switzerland |
8 June 1998 | 8 October 2015 | Expelled |
| — | Issa Hayatou |  Cameroon |
8 October 2015 | 26 February 2016 | Acting |
| 9 | Gianni Infantino |  Italy Switzerland |
26 February 2016 | Incumbent |
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 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)
- Confederation of African Football (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 (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. 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.
On 28 February 2022, FIFA suspended Russia from all competitions.
FIFA can suspend countries due to numerous multifaceted issues. Common reasons include governance interference, corruption, and financial irregularities. Doping is also a consideration for expulsion.
The FIFA Men's World Rankings 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 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.
FIFA Council – formerly called the FIFA Executive Committee and chaired by the president – is the organization's main decision-making body in the intervals of Congress. The council comprises 37 people: the president; 8 vice-presidents; and 28 members from the confederations, with at least one of them being a woman. The executive committee is the body that decides which country will host the World Cup.
The president and the general secretary 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 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 FIFA Emergency Committee, the FIFA Ethics Committee, 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. 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 the United Kingdom: 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.
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.
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's winners.
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)
Tournaments
National teamsMen's
Women's
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ClubsMen's
Women's
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eSportsIndividual
Team
Former tournaments
The hosts of all Senior Association Football FIFA World Cups, including both men's and women's, as of 2014
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Current title holders
| Competition | Year | Champions | Details | Runners-up | Next | ||
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| National teams | |||||||
| FIFA World Cup (qualification) | 2022 (qual.) | Argentina  |
Final |  France |
2026 (qual.) | ||
| Men's Olympic Football Tournament (U-23) |
2024 (qual.) | Spain  |
Final | France |
2028 (qual.) | ||
| FIFA U-20 World Cup | 2023 (qual.) | Uruguay  |
Final | Italy |
2025 (qual.) | ||
| FIFA U-17 World Cup | 2023 (qual.) | Germany  |
Final | France |
2025 (qual.) | ||
| FIFA Futsal World Cup | 2024 (qual.) | Brazil |
Final | Argentina |
2028 (qual.) | ||
| FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup (see BSWW) |
2024 (qual.) | Brazil |
Final | Italy |
2025 (qual.) | ||
| FIFA Series | 2024 | Algeria  Bulgaria  Croatia  Cape Verde  Guinea  Central African Republic  |
RR RR Final RR RR RR |
 Bolivia Azerbaijan Egypt Guyana Brunei Sri Lanka |
2026 | ||
| FIFA Arab Cup (senior teams of the UAFA (Arab world)) |
2021 (qual.) | Algeria |
Final |  Tunisia |
2025 | ||
| Women's national teams | |||||||
| FIFA Women's World Cup (qualification) | 2023 (qual.) | Spain  |
Final |  England |
2027 (qual.) | ||
| Women's Olympic Football Tournament | 2024 (qual.) | United States  |
Final |  Brazil |
2028 (qual.) | ||
| FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup | 2024 (qual.) | North Korea  |
Final |  Japan |
2026 (qual.) | ||
| FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup | 2024 (qual.) | North Korea |
Final | Spain |
2025 (qual.) | ||
| FIFA Futsal Women's World Cup | — | — | — | — | 2025 | ||
| Club teams | |||||||
| FIFA Club World Cup | 2023 (qual.) | Manchester City |
Final | Fluminense |
2025 (qual.) | ||
| FIFA Intercontinental Cup | 2024 | Real Madrid |
Final |  Pachuca |
2025 | ||
| Blue Stars/FIFA Youth Cup | 2024 | Red Bull Salzburg  |
Final |  Zürich |
2025 | ||
| Women's club teams | |||||||
| FIFA Women's Club World Cup | — | — | — | — | 2028 | ||
| FIFA Women's Champions Cup | — | — | — | — | 2026 | ||
| Blue Stars/FIFA Youth Cup | 2024 | Arsenal |
Final | Basel |
2025 | ||
Sports
| Competitio | Season | Game | Winner (Player/Gamer ID) |
Details | Runner-up (Player/Gamer ID) |
Season | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Esports | |||||||||
| FIFAe World Cup | 2022 | EA Sports FIFA 22 | Umut - Umut Gültekin |
Final | Nicolas Villalba - Nicolas99FC |
2023 | |||
| 2024 | Football Manager 2024 | Ichsan Taufiq (manager), Manar Hidayat (assistant)  |
Final | Sven Golly (manager), Terry Whenett (assistant) |
2025 | ||||
| 2024 | Rocket League | Yazid Bakhashwin-Kiileerrz, Saleh Bakhashwin-Rw9, Mohammed Alotaibi-trk511  |
Final | Axel Touret-Vatira, Evan Rogez-M0nkey M00n, Alexis Bernier-Zen |
2025 | ||||
| 2024 | eFootball Console | Binong Boys, Shnks-Elga, Akbar Paudie |
Final | GuiFera99, STS_Jvictor, ThiagoAvare10 |
2025 | ||||
| eFootball Mobile | Minbappe  |
Final |  An10_Tienes |
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| FIFAe Club World Cup (part of the FIFAe Club Series) |
2022 | EA Sports FIFA 22 | Riders  |
Final | SAF |
2023 | |||
| FIFAe Nations Series (part of the FIFAe Nations Cup) |
2023 | EA Sports FIFA 23 |
(Paulo Henrique Chaves) |
Final |
(Levi de Weerd) |
2024 | |||
| FIFAe Continental Cup | 2022 | ProGamer  |
Final |  Crazy Win |
2023 | ||||
FIFA World Rankings
Men'sThe following table has the Top 20 ranked men's football countries worldwide.
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Women'sThe following table has the Top 20 ranked women's football countries in the world.
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Sponsors of FIFA
FIFA Partners
FIFA+
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Type of site
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OTT streaming platform |
|---|---|
| Available in | English |
| Headquarters | , |
| Country of origin | France |
| Area served | France |
| Owner | FIFA |
| Registration | Required |
| Launched | 2022 |
| Current status | Active |
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.
Competitions
National League- Serie C Now
Channels
- TrueVsions Now (FIFA+) 634
FIFA Innovation Programme
2021-23 Members:
- Playermaker
- AiSCOUT
- Vivaturf
- HUMANOX
- Vieww
See also
In Spanish: FIFA para niños
- 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 association football players
- FIFA Congress
