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What is FIFA?
FIFA or the Federation Internationale de Football Association is the highest governing body of football in the world. It is the international governing body of association football, futsal, and beach soccer. FIFA is a non-profit organisation.
Founded in 1904, FIFA was launched to oversee international competition among the national associations of Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. FIFA now comprises 211 member nations. It is headquartered in Zurich and the current president is Gianni Infantino.
Objective of FIFA
The primary objective of FIFA is to spread football internationally, making sure that the game is accessible to everyone around the world, and to promote integrity and fair play.
FIFA is responsible for the organisation and promotion of international tournaments, including the men’s World Cup, which started in 1930, the women’s World Cup, which began in 1991. FIFA is affiliated to the International Olympic Committee and is also a member of the International Football Association Board, which is responsible for setting the rules of football.
However, the responsibility of enforcing the rules lies with FIFA.
6 regional confederations affiliated to FIFA
Besides FIFA, there are 6 regional confederations affiliated to FIFA, which manage football. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is the governing body for Asia and Australia. Confederation of African Football (CAF) has 56 members, Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCAF) has 41 members, Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol (CONMEBOL) is the South American federation with 10 members, Oceania Football Federation (OFC) has 14 members including New Zealand, and Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) with 55 members is the governing body for Europe.
FIFA tournaments
FIFA conducts 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.
Men’s World Cup
The men’s football World Cup organised by FIFA is one the biggest sporting events of the world. It is one of the most widely viewed and followed sporting events, even surpassing the viewership of Olympics. The 2006 World Cup’s cumulative viewership of all matches was approximately 26.29 billion and an estimated 715.1 million people watched the final of the tournament.
It is held every four years. The last tournament was held in 2018 in Russia and France won the title.
Latest Updates on FIFA
FIFA intends to announce the 2026 World Cup sites during a news conference in New York on June 16.
Months of tense negotiations between EA and FIFA ended without an agreement to extend a partnership
During the qualifying program for the World Cup, Brazilian health officials came onto the field minutes after kickoff last September to dispute the quarantine status of some Argentina players
The investigation was opened after British daily The Guardian in December reported statements by alleged victims
Entertainment major Viacom18 on Friday announced the launch of Sports18, the network's dedicated sports broadcasting channel.
Letting Russia try to qualify for the World Cup risked doing irreparable and chaotic harm to the competition, FIFA successfully argued at sport's highest court.
FIFA is getting into the streaming platform business with a soccer version of Netflix and Amazon Prime.
Qatar provided no details of the abuses that involved subcontractors working on the Club World Cup and Arab Cup in 2021.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino has clarified at the 72nd FIFA Congress in Doha, Qatar that the global football governing body has not proposed a biennial World Cup and it needs more time to discuss.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino has praised Qatar for the efforts it has made to improve human rights in the build up to the 2022 World Cup finals.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Friday rejected the request filed by the Football Union of Russia (FUR) to stay on the suspension of all Russian teams and clubs
The Russian Football Union (RFU) has appealed to The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against the decisions by Fifa and UEFA to bar Russian teams from international competitions
Ukraine is set to play Scotland in Glasgow on March 24, with the winner then taking on either Wales or Austria five days later for a place at this year's World Cup in Qatar.
Russia on Thursday said it will go to the Court of Arbitration for Sport to appeal against the decisions by FIFA, UEFA to bar Russian teams from international competitions over Ukraine invasion
Globally, teams banned, sponsorships cancelled. India's friendly football match also affected
FIFA and its European affiliate UEFA have jointly suspended Russian clubs and its national team from all competitions for an indefinite period for the country's continued invasion of Ukraine.
After the first round of negotiations which took place on Monday and produced no tangible results, the sides had said they would meet again in the coming days
FIFA handed out fines and suspensions on Monday while ordering Brazil and Argentina to replay the World Cup qualifier
FIFA has launched an innovative FIFA Talent Development Scheme (TDS), offering bespoke assistance to member associations (MAs) to help them achieve their full potential
FIFA President Gianni Infantino Infantino said soccer was being dominated by the few who "have everything"