FIFA

FIFA, short for the Fédération Internationale de Football Association, is the international organization that helps manage and grow the game of association football, also known as soccer. It was started on 21 May 1904 by countries like Belgium, Denmark, France, and others. Today, FIFA includes 211 national teams from all around the world.

FIFA organizes big soccer events such as the World Cup, which began in 1930, and the Women's World Cup, which started in 1991. It works to make sure soccer is played fairly and openly everywhere. FIFA also brings in a lot of money through sponsorships; in 2022, it made over US$5.8 billion.

There have been some tough times for FIFA. Some leaders faced serious accusations about unfair decisions and wrongdoings. This led to investigations and suspensions of important people in charge. Even so, FIFA continues to play a big role in the world of soccer.

History

Main article: History of FIFA

As football grew in popularity, there was a need for one group to manage the sport internationally. This led to the creation of FIFA on May 21, 1904, in Paris. The countries that started FIFA were Belgium, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.

The first leader of FIFA was Robert Guérin, followed by Daniel Burley Woolfall from England. FIFA began organizing tournaments, including one at the 1908 Olympics in London. Over time, more countries joined, such as South Africa, Argentina, Canada, Chile, and the United States.

During World War I, it was hard for FIFA to continue because many players were away at war and travel was limited. After the war, FIFA continued under new leadership and later organized the first World Cup in 1930 in Montevideo, Uruguay.

Identity

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

FIFA also has a special anthem. This anthem was first used during the 1994 FIFA World Cup and was made by a composer from Germany. It is played at the start of important FIFA events like the FIFA World Cup, FIFA Women's World Cup, and other big tournaments. Since 2007, FIFA often uses this anthem at the beginning and end of broadcasts about their events.

Presidents of FIFA

Main article: List of presidents of FIFA

Structure

Main articles: Geography of association football and Geography of women's association football

FIFA has six groups that help manage soccer around the world. These groups look after the sport in different parts of the world, like Asia, Africa, Europe, and more. Each country has its own soccer group that belongs to FIFA.

There are 211 countries that play soccer under FIFA’s rules. Some places that aren’t countries, like parts of the United Kingdom and special areas of China, also have their own teams. FIFA can stop countries from playing if there are big problems, like unfair treatment or cheating.

FIFA’s main office is in Zurich, Switzerland. The group that makes the big decisions is called the FIFA Congress. Leaders from each country meet once a year to talk about rules and choose leaders for FIFA. The FIFA Council helps make decisions when the Congress isn’t meeting.

The President of FIFA is the main leader. The current president is Gianni Infantino. There are many other groups that help with different jobs, like making sure rules are followed and handling money.

Governance

The rules that control football, called the Laws of the Game, are not just managed by FIFA. They are looked after by a group called the International Football Association Board (IFAB). FIFA has four members on this board, and the other four members come from the football groups of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. These five countries created IFAB in 1882 and helped start the sport. Any changes to the Laws of the Game need agreement from at least six members.

FIFA has its own set of rules called the FIFA Statutes. It has different groups that help make decisions, like a big meeting called the Congress, a smaller group called the executive committee, and other teams that help with special tasks.

FIFA also makes sure football is played fairly around the world. Sometimes, it stops teams from playing if their government tries to control them too much.

In 2018, FIFA started allowing referees to use video to check big decisions during games. Before that, FIFA did not like using video for this. This change happened after an important game in 2010 where a ball crossed the goal line but the referee did not see it.

In 2015, some people who worked for FIFA were accused of doing bad things, like taking money secretly. This made many people unhappy and led to big changes in how FIFA was run.

After Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, FIFA decided not to let Russian teams play in its games. Some people wondered why FIFA did not make similar decisions in the past for other countries.

In 2024, some football players said FIFA did not pay them money that they were promised.

Recognition and awards

FIFA gives out several important awards each year to celebrate great players, coaches, and teams in international football. The top men's and women's players receive special honors, and there are awards for the best coach and an exciting team lineup.

FIFA also gives awards for special achievements, like the most beautiful goal of the year or the best goalkeeper in the World Cup. In 2000, they even gave out awards to find the greatest football club and player of the 20th century.

FIFA Peace Prize

In 2025, FIFA announced a new award called the FIFA Peace Prize. This award is for people who do great work to help bring peace and unity. The first prize was given to Donald Trump at the 2026 World Cup draw in Washington, D.C.

FIFA variants

FIFA oversees several types of football. These include Association football, which was recognized for men in 1904 and for women in 1988. Other types are Futsal, recognized for men in 1986 and women in 2023, Esports recognized in 2004, and Beach soccer, recognized for men in 2005 and women in 2019.

Tournaments

See also: List of association football competitions and FIFA International Match Calendar

Current title holders

See also: Portal:Current events/Sports, 2026 in association football, 2026 in sports, and FIFA International Match Calendar

eSports

See also: Portal:Current events/Sports and 2026 in sports

FIFA World Rankings

Sponsors of FIFA

Some big companies help support FIFA. These include well-known names like Adidas, Coca-Cola, Hyundai–Kia, Lenovo, and Visa. These partners help make international football events possible.

FIFA+

In April 2022, FIFA launched FIFA+, an OTT service that shows up to 40,000 live matches each year, including 11,000 matches for women’s teams. It also offers old matches from past FIFA World Cups and FIFA Women’s World Cups, along with special documentaries. Eleven Sports helps provide these live matches on the FIFA+ platform.

FIFA+ broadcasts all matches from youth World Cups for both boys and girls, starting with the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup. It also showed the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup live in places like Japan, Brazil, Indonesia, and Thailand.

FIFA+ has rights to show competitions in Oceania, including the OFC Champions League and the OFC Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament. It also covers New Zealand’s domestic leagues and national teams.

Competitions

As of 16 May 2025, FIFA+ covers these 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
• CAFA Nations Cup (final and third-place match only)
• UNCAF Women’s Interclub Championship
• COSAFA Cup
• COSAFA Women’s Champions League
• COSAFA Women’s Championship
• COSAFA U-17 Youth Championship
• COSAFA U-17 Women’s Championship

National

• Kategoria Superiore
• Kategoria e Parë
• Albanian Cup
• Algerian League 2
• Algerian Cup
• Algerian Women’s Championship D2
• Aruban Division di Honor
• AFA Senior Male League
• Azerbaijan First League
• Azerbaijan Second League
• BFA Senior League
• Barbados Premier League
• Benin Premier League
• Bermudian Premier Division
• Bhutan Premier League
• BVIFA National Football League
• Burkinabé Premier League
• Burundi Ligue A
• Burundian Cup
• Cape Verdean Football Championship
• Futsal Canadian Championship
• Cayman Islands Premier League
• Central African Republic League
• Comoros Premier League
• Djibouti Premier League
• Dominica Premier League
• Equatoguinean Primera División
• Premier League of Eswatini
• Ethiopian Higher League
• Fiji Premier League
• Super League of Malawi
• FDH Bank Knockout Cup
• Malawi FAM Charity Shield
• Championnat National
• Première Ligue
• National Foot 1
• GFA League First Division
• GFA Premier League
• GFF Elite League
• Gujarat Super League
• Bandodkar Trophy
• Santosh Trophy
• Serie C
• Coppa Italia Serie C
• Ligue 2
• WE League Cup
• Women’s Football Superleague of Kosovo
• Lao League 1
• Lebanese Premier League
• Lebanese Super Cup
• Lebanese Women’s Football League
• Lesotho Premier League
• LFA First Division
• Liberian FA Cup
• TOPLYGA
• I Lyga
• Liga de Elite
• Malian Première Division
• Malian Cup
• Super Coupe National du Mali
• Super D1
• Mauritanian President’s Cup
• Mauritian Premier League
• Mauritian Cup
• Mauritian Republic Cup
• Moroccan Women’s Championship D1
• New Zealand National League
• Northern League
• Central League
• Southern League
• Chatham Cup
• Kate Sheppard Cup
• Liga Primera
• Segunda División de Nicaragua
• Super Ligue
• Niger Cup
• Oman First Division League
• Sultan Qaboos Cup
• Oman Super Cup
• Papua New Guinea Premier Soccer League
• SVGFF Premier Division
• Campionato Sammarinese
• Coppa Titano
• Seychelles Premier League
• Sierra Leone National Premier League
• Solomon Islands S-League
• South Sudan Premier League
• SKNFA Premier League
• Suriname Major League
• Togolese Championnat National
• TT Premier Football League
• Tunisian Women’s Championship
• Provo Premier League
• UAE First Division League
• UAE President’s Cup
• Uganda Premier League
• USL Championship
• USL League One
• USL League Two
• Liga FUTVE
• Liga FUTVE 2

Only in:

Channels

• TrueVisions (FIFA+) 634
• Plex (FIFA+)
• mewatch (FIFA+)
• Eurosport India (FIFA+)
• Xfinity (FIFA+)
• DAZN (FIFA+)

Corruption

Further information: 2015 FIFA corruption case

In 2006, a book by journalist Andrew Jennings exposed some problems within FIFA. The book talked about possible unfair deals and voting for important FIFA decisions. A TV program also showed that some FIFA leaders might have been given secret payments.

In 2015, many FIFA leaders were arrested for being accused of unfair deals and taking secret payments. This caused a lot of people to question how FIFA was run.

The choice of Russia to host the 2018 World Cup and Qatar to host the 2022 World Cup was also criticized. Some people thought there might have been unfair voting or secret deals to decide these choices.

In 2011, there were also questions about voting for a new FIFA leader, with some people accused of offering money to get votes.

Many people and groups have asked FIFA to change how it is run to avoid these problems in the future. Some sponsors have also expressed concern about these issues.