Written by: Suprabh Acharya - 2026022, Grade VI
Posted on: 26 August, 2020
The Federation International de Football Association is a non- profit organization that describes itself as an international governing body of football, futsal. It is the highest governing body of football. FIFA was founded in 1904 to oversee international competition among the national associations of Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. Headquartered in Zurich, its membership now comprises all national associations. Member countries must each also be a member of one of the six regional confederations into which the world is divided: Africa, Asia, Europe, North, and Central America and the Caribbean, Oceania, and South America.
Today, FIFA outlines a number of objectives in the organizational statues, including growing football internationally, providing efforts to ensure football is accessible to everyone, and advocating for integrity and fair play. FIFA is responsible for the organization and promotion of football’s major international tournaments, notably the World Cup which commenced in 1930 and the Women's World Cup which commenced in 1991. Although FIFA does not solely set the rules of football, 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 sponsorship. In 2018, FIFA had revenues of over US $4.6 billion, ending the 2015-2018 cycle with a net positive of US $1.2 billion, and had cash reserves of over US $2.7 billion. Reports by investigative journalists have linked FIFA leadership with corruption, bribery, and vote-rigging related to the election of FIFA president Sepp Blatter.
