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January 16, 2015
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Fédération Internationale de Football Association FIFA Logo (2010).svg
World Map FIFA.svg
Map of the members of FIFA according to their confederation Abbreviation FIFA
Motto For the Game. For the World.Formation 21 May 1904 (110 years ago)
Type Federation of national associations Headquarters Zürich, Switzerland
Coordinates 47°22′53″N 8°34′28″ECoordinates: 47°22′53″N 8°34′28″E Region served
Worldwide Membership
209 national associations
Official language
English, French, German, Portuguese, Spanish
President
Sepp Blatter
Senior Vice-President
Julio Grondona
Vice-Presidents
Jim Boyce, Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein
Affiliations International Olympic Committee
Website www.fifa.com
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association(FIFA /ˈfiːfə/; English: International Federation of Association Football) is the international governing body of association football, futsal and beach soccer. FIFA is responsible for the organisation of football's major international tournaments, notably the World Cup which commenced in 1930 and the Women's World Cup which commenced in 1991. 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 Zürich, membership now comprises 209 national associations. Member countries must each also be members of one of the six regional confederations into which the world is divided: Africa, Asia, Europe, North & Central America and the Caribbean, Oceania and South America.
Although FIFA does not control the rules of the game, it is responsible for both the organisation of a number of tournaments and their promotion, which generate revenue from sponsorship. In 2013, FIFA had revenues of over 1.3 billion U.S. dollars, for a net profit of 72 million, and had cash reserves over 1.4 billion U.S. dollars
Reports by investigative journalists have linked the FIFA leadership with rapaciousness, corruption, and bribery, and alleged that vote rigging was involved in the election of president Sepp Blatter. FIFA's choice to award the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar, respectively, have been widely criticised, with allegations of vote buying.
History
Main article: History of FIFA
The need for a single body to oversee association football became 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 at the Rue Saint Honoré 229 in Paris on 21 May 1904.[4] The French name and acronym persist even outside French-speaking countries. The founding members were the national associations of Belgium, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Spain (represented by Madrid Football Club; the Spanish federation was not created until 1913), Sweden and Switzerland. Also, that same day, the German Association declared its intention of affiliating 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 1908, Argentina and Chile in 1912, and Canada and the United States in 1913.
During World War I, with many players sent off to war and the possibility of travel for international fixtures severely limited, the organisation's survival was in doubt. Post-war, following the death of Woolfall, the organisation 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 recent World War enemies. The Home Nations later resumed their membership.
The FIFA collection is held by the National Football Museum in England.
Structure
Main article: List of FIFA Member Associations
Map of the World with the six confederations: membership details below.
Legal and bylaws
FIFA is an association established under the Laws of Switzerland. Its headquarters are in Zurich.
FIFA's supreme body is the FIFA Congress, an assembly made up of representatives from each affiliated member association. The Congress has met 66 times since 1904; it now assembles in ordinary session once every year and, additionally, extraordinary sessions have been held once a year since 1998. At the congress, decisions are made relating to FIFA's governing statutes and their method of implementation and application. Only the 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 FIFA's Executive Committee on the year following the FIFA World Cup. Each national football association has one vote, regardless of its size or footballing strength.
The President and General Secretary are the main officeholders of FIFA, and are in charge of its daily administration, carried out by the General Secretariat, with its staff of approximately 280 members. FIFA's Executive Committee, chaired by the President, is the main decision-making body of the organisation in the intervals of Congress. FIFA's worldwide organisational structure also consists of several other bodies, under authority of the Executive Committee or created by Congress as standing committees. Among those bodies are the Finance Committee, the Disciplinary Committee, and the Referees Committee.
Administrative cost
FIFA publishes its results according to IFRS. The total compensation for the management committee in 2011 was 30 million for 35 persons. Blatter, the only full-time person on the committee, earns approximately two million Swiss francs, 1.2 million in salary and the rest in bonuses. A report in London's 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.
6 confederations and 209 national associations
FIFA confederations
AFC
CAF
CONCACAF
CONMEBOL
OFC
UEFA
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Besides its worldwide institutions (presidency, Executive Committee, Congress, etc.) there are six confederations recognised 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 confederation is a prerequisite to FIFA membership.
AFC – Asian Football Confederation
Australia has been a member of the AFC since 2006
CAF – Confederation of African Football
CONCACAF – Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football
French Guiana, Guyana and Suriname are CONCACAF members although they are in South America. The French Guiana team is a member of CONCACAF but not of FIFA.
CONMEBOL – Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol
OFC – Oceania Football Confederation
UEFA – Union of European Football Associations
Teams representing the transcontinental nations of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkey are UEFA members, although the majority of their territory is outside of continental Europe. Israel is also member of UEFA. Monaco and the Vatican City are not members of UEFA or FIFA, while Gibraltar is only a member of UEFA.
In total, FIFA recognises 209 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. FIFA has more member states than the UN, as FIFA recognises 23 non-sovereign entities as distinct nations, such as the four Home Nations within the United Kingdom and politically disputed territories such as Palestine.
The FIFA Working Committee on Small Nations has categorized potential FIFA members into three categories:
Independent states not in FIFA (Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Monaco, Palau, Tuvalu)
Non-independent territories (Guadeloupe, Greenland, Isle of Man, Jersey, Martinique, Northern Mariana Islands, Réunion, Sint Maarten, Zanzibar)
Politically sensitive areas (Gibraltar, North Ossetia, Kosovo, Northern Cyprus).
The FIFA 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, updated four times a year.
Recognitions and awards
FIFA awards, each year, the title of FIFA Ballon d'Or to the top men's and women's players of the year, as part of its annual awards ceremony which also recognises team and international association football achievements. Until 2009, they awarded the FIFA Player of the Year to the best player, until it and the Ballon d'Or ceased to be awarded. At the Ballon d'Or banquet, the FIFA Puskás Award, the FIFA/FIFPro Best XI, FIFA Fair Play Award, and the FIFA Presidential Award are also awarded.
In 1994 FIFA published the FIFA World Cup All-Time Team. In 2000 FIFA published the results of an Internet poll, declaring Real Madrid to be the FIFA Club of the Century. In 2002 FIFA announced the FIFA Dream Team, an all-time all-star team chosen by fans in a poll.
As part of its centennial celebrations in 2004, FIFA organised a "Match of the Century" between France and Brazil.
Governance and game development
Main article: Laws of the Game (association football)
FIFA headquarters
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 recognised for the creation and history of the game. Changes to the Laws of the Game must be agreed by at least six of the eight delegates.
FIFA commits itself to constantly improving the sport of football. The FIFA Statutes form the overarching document guiding FIFA's governing system. The governing system is divided into separate bodies that have 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.
2018 and 2022 World Cup bids
Further information: 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids
Further information: Garcia Report
FIFA's choice to award the 2018 World Cup to Russia and the 2022 World Cup to Qatar, has been widely criticised 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.[33] Sepp Blatter was widely criticised 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 exposés[34] and the Panorama 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 member of parliament, Damian Collins, that there was evidence from the Sunday Times newspaper that Issa Hayatou of Cameroon and Jacques Anouma of Côte d'Ivoire were paid by Qatar. Qatar have categorically denied the allegations, as have Hayatou and Anouma.
FIFA President Blatter said, as of 23 May 2011, that British newspaper The Sunday Times 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 Zurich and then we will have a discussion, an investigation of this," Blatter said.
Specifically, the whistleblower 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 and is a FIFA vice president. Anouma is president of Ivorian Football Federation. The whistleblower 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 whistleblower would meet with FIFA secretary general, Jerome 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, Nicolas 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.
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 is the general secretary of the CONCACAF federation, 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, Jerome Valcke, had told him via e-mail that Qatar had bought the 2022 World Cup.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[49] 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 allegation
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, Danny Jordaan, CEO of the 2010 FIFA World Cup 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 is also being linked with a role.
UEFA secretary general Gianni Infantino 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, Emirates and Visa.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$49 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, also called on FIFA to re-examine the awarding of the 2022 FIFA 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 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.
