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AUF — Asociación Uruguaya de Fútbol

Uruguay’s national football association, which states it was founded on 30 March 1900 and has been a FIFA member since 1922; a CONMEBOL member since 1916 per CONMEBOL’s statutes. FIFA appointed a normalisation committee for it in August 2018.
✓ Last reviewed: October 2026
Founded30 March 1900, as the AUF states and CONMEBOL’s profile also gives[1][2]
HeadquartersGuayabo 1531, Montevideo, the address CONMEBOL and FIFA give[2][3]
World bodyFIFA, which lists it as the Uruguayan Football Association; the AUF states it has been a member “desde 1922”[4][1]
ConfederationCONMEBOL, a member “desde 1916” under Article 5 of the CONMEBOL statutes[5]
Congress76 votes, distributed among professional and amateur leagues, OFI, women’s football, futsal and the players’, coaches’ and referees’ associations[6]
NormalisationA FIFA normalisation committee was appointed by the Bureau of the FIFA Council on 21 August 2018[7]
PresidentIgnacio Alonso, listed by the AUF and FIFA as president (October 2026); first elected on 21 March 2019, as El Observador reported[6][3][8]

What is the AUF?

The Asociación Uruguaya de Fútbol (AUF) is the national association for football in Uruguay. It describes itself on its own site in these words: “La Asociación Uruguaya de Fútbol, es el cuerpo gobernante del fútbol de Uruguay” — the governing body of football in Uruguay — and states that it is responsible for organising the national team and the official football championships.[1]

FIFA’s member-association page lists it as the Uruguayan Football Association, under CONMEBOL, with www.auf.org.uy as its website and Ignacio Alonso as its president.[4] CONMEBOL’s profile of the association describes it, in its own words, as representing “la suma de todo cuanto pueda significar el fútbol sudamericano” — the sum of everything South American football can mean.[2] FIFA’s list of the AUF’s officers names, beside the president, a vice-president and a general secretary, head coaches of the men’s and women’s national teams, a futsal coordinator and a chair of the referees committee.[3]

What does the AUF govern or do?

By its own account the AUF runs both the national team and the official championships.[1] Its structure reflects that range. The congress through which its members act gives seats to the clubs of the professional first and second divisions, to an amateur first-division league, to OFI (the interior’s football organisation), to the women’s football league and the futsal league, and to three professional groups: the players’ association, the coaches’ association and the referees’ association.[6]

Day-to-day direction lies with an executive committee of a president and six members, which the AUF lists on its authorities page.[6] In 2018 FIFA tasked a normalisation committee with reviewing the AUF statutes “and ensure their compliance and amendment in line with the requirements of FIFA’s and CONMEBOL’s statutes”, which places the statutes inside the FIFA–CONMEBOL framework.[7] FIFA lists a chair of the AUF’s referees committee among its officers.[3] CONMEBOL’s statutes oblige every member association to “instaurar un sistema de concesión de licencia de clubes que cumpla con los requisitos mínimos establecidos por la CONMEBOL y la FIFA” — to set up a club-licensing system meeting CONMEBOL’s and FIFA’s minimum requirements.[5]

When was the AUF founded and where is it based?

The AUF states: “Fue fundada el 30 de marzo de 1900.”[1] CONMEBOL’s profile of the association gives the same date, 30 March 1900, and records 1916 as the year the AUF entered CONMEBOL.[2]

The three dates of the AUF’s recognition are separate. Founding: 1900, as above. Confederation: CONMEBOL’s statutes record “Asociación Uruguaya de Fútbol desde 1916”, the year CONMEBOL was founded, and the AUF calls itself one of CONMEBOL’s founding members.[5][1] FIFA: the AUF states it has been a member of FIFA “desde 1922”.[1]

The seat CONMEBOL gives is Guayabo 1531, Montevideo.[2] FIFA gives the same address, Guayabo 1531, 11200 Montevideo.[3]

How is the AUF recognised?

FIFA. FIFA’s member-association page lists the Uruguayan Football Association, under CONMEBOL.[4] The AUF states that it is “miembro de la FIFA desde 1922” — a member of FIFA since 1922, in its own account.[1]

CONMEBOL. Article 5(3) of the CONMEBOL statutes approved on 4 June 2019 names the AUF among the four associations that have been members since 1916.[5] Uruguay appears among the ten associations on CONMEBOL’s members page.[9] The AUF describes itself as one of CONMEBOL’s founding members.[1]

FIFA normalisation, 2018–19. FIFA reported on 29 August 2018 that “On 21 August 2018, the Bureau of the FIFA Council decided to appoint, with immediate effect, a normalisation committee for the Uruguayan Football Association (AUF).” The committee — chaired by Juan Pedro Bordaberry, with Andrés Scotti Ponce de León and Armando Castaingdebat — was to run the AUF’s daily affairs, revise its statutes and organise elections for a new executive committee, with a mandate running to 28 February 2019.[7] The release also named a consultative committee of Fernando Goldie, Eduardo Ache and Ignacio Alonso.[7] On 21 March 2019 the AUF elected Ignacio Alonso as its president, in an election overseen by the normalisation committee chaired by Bordaberry, as El Observador reported the next day.[8] As of October 2026 the AUF lists a president and an executive committee of six members.[6]

What does the AUF organise?

The AUF states that it is in charge of the national team and of the official football championships.[1] Its national teams enter the FIFA World Cup qualifiers and the Copa América through CONMEBOL.[4] Its site lists men’s youth competitions from under-14 to under-19, women’s first and second divisions with under-14, under-16 and under-19 categories, men’s and women’s futsal (senior and youth), and men’s and women’s senior beach football.[1]

The top flight, the Liga AUF Uruguaya, carries the association’s name and is among the official championships the AUF states it organises.[1] The AUF congress gives seats to the competitions and sectors around it: a professional first division and a professional second division, an amateur first-division league, the women’s football league, the futsal league, and the football of the interior through OFI.[6] Uruguayan clubs qualify from the domestic championship for the Copa Libertadores and the Copa Sudamericana, which CONMEBOL organises. Beside the Liga AUF Uruguaya, the AUF’s site lists the Segunda Profesional AUF, the Primera Divisional C, the Divisional D, a third division and the Copa AUF Uruguay among its men’s competitions, and a Copa AUF Sin Género.[1]

Who are its members?

The AUF’s authorities page states: “El Congreso está integrado por los Miembros de la AUF a través de sus Delegados Titulares” — the congress is made up of the AUF’s members through their full delegates. It gives the congress 76 votes, distributed as follows:[6]

The figures are those published by the AUF in October 2026.[6]

References

  1. AUF — Asociación Uruguaya de Fútbol, home page (description, founding, CONMEBOL and FIFA membership). Accessed 2026-10-04.
  2. CONMEBOL — Asociación Uruguaya de Fútbol, association profile. Accessed 2026-10-04.
  3. FIFA — Member associations: Uruguay, organisation (officers and address). Accessed 2026-10-04.
  4. FIFA — Member associations: Uruguay (Uruguayan Football Association). Accessed 2026-10-04.
  5. CONMEBOL — Estatutos, approved by the Extraordinary Congress of 4 June 2019 (Spanish PDF), Articles 1 and 5. Accessed 2026-10-04.
  6. AUF — Autoridades (president, executive committee, congress composition). Accessed 2026-10-04.
  7. FIFA — Situation of the Uruguayan Football Association (media release, 29 August 2018). Accessed 2026-10-04.
  8. El Observador — “Entre reuniones secretas, discusiones y pedidos de impugnación, Alonso ganó en la AUF” (22 March 2019). Accessed 2026-10-04.
  9. CONMEBOL — Asociaciones (member associations). Accessed 2026-10-04.