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International Federation · Soccer

FIFA — Fédération Internationale de Football Association

Football’s international federation, founded in Paris on 21 May 1904 and seated in Zurich; 211 member associations in six confederations, an ASOIF member and organiser of the FIFA World Cup.
✓ Last reviewed: September 2026
Founded21 May 1904, Paris, by seven founding members[3]
SeatZurich, Switzerland (FIFA Statutes, art. 67)[1]
Legal formAssociation under art. 60 ff. of the Swiss Civil Code[1]
Members211 member associations (FIFA’s count; also Olympedia, January 2026)[2][3]
ConfederationsAFC · CAF · Concacaf · CONMEBOL · OFC · UEFA[1]
RecognitionASOIF full member; World Anti-Doping Code signatory; IOC recognition 1904 in Olympedia’s record[3][4][5]
Laws of the GameIssued by The IFAB, where FIFA holds four of eight votes; 2026/27 edition[1][7]

What is FIFA?

FIFA — the Fédération Internationale de Football Association — is the international federation of association football. Article 1 of its Statutes states that “The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) is an association in accordance with article 60 ff. of the Swiss Civil Code”, and article 67 places its headquarters and legal domicile in Zurich “until the Congress takes a decision” otherwise.[1] Its members are national football associations — 211 of them, in FIFA’s own count — grouped into six continental confederations.[2]

The Statutes open FIFA’s objectives with two aims: “to improve the game of football constantly and promote it globally in the light of its unifying, educational, cultural and humanitarian values” and “to organise its own international competitions”.[1] The disciplines it governs are football, futsal and beach soccer; Olympedia lists football as the Olympic discipline and futsal and beach soccer as non-Olympic.[3]

FIFA’s official languages under the Statutes are Arabic, English, French, German, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.[1] The May 2024 edition of the FIFA Statutes is the edition published on FIFA’s document hub; an Extraordinary FIFA Congress is scheduled in Zurich for 23 November 2026.[13] FIFA’s legal section describes the Statutes as one of “the current versions of the various sets of rules and regulations” it publishes, alongside the Governance Regulations, the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players, the Code of Ethics and the Disciplinary Code.[12]

What does FIFA govern or do?

FIFA does not write the Laws of the Game alone. Article 7 of the Statutes requires every member association to play “in compliance with the Laws of the Game issued by The IFAB” and adds that “Only The IFAB may lay down and alter the Laws of the Game.”[1] The International Football Association Board has five members — FIFA with four votes and the football associations of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland with one each — and changes need a three-quarters majority; the Laws are in their 2026/27 edition.[7]

FIFA regulates the international movement of players: disputes and regulatory applications under its Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players go to the FIFA Football Tribunal. “According to article 54 of the FIFA Statutes, the Football Tribunal shall pass decisions relating to football-related disputes and regulatory applications”; it sits as three chambers — the Dispute Resolution Chamber, the Players’ Status Chamber and the Agents Chamber, the last hearing agent disputes “as from 1 October 2023”.[8] FIFA reported on 30 September 2026 that “More than 22,000 cases, applications and enquiries” were received and processed between 1 July 2025 and 30 June 2026, including more than 17,000 applications concerning international transfers of minors.[9] See transfer systems.

FIFA is a signatory of the World Anti-Doping Code.[5] Under article 49 of the Statutes, “FIFA recognises the independent Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) with headquarters in Lausanne (Switzerland).”[1] FIFA does not run domestic leagues: national competitions belong to its member associations, which in FIFA’s words are “responsible for the development and governance of football within their territory”.[2]

When was FIFA founded and where is it based?

Olympedia records that FIFA was “formed on 21 May 1904 in Paris, France, with seven founding members: Belgium, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Spain (represented by Madrid Football Club), Sweden, and Switzerland”.[3] The Statutes bind members to “play association football in compliance with the Laws of the Game”, the game named in FIFA’s own title.[1]

The seat is fixed by the Statutes: article 1 constitutes FIFA as an association under the Swiss Civil Code and leaves its headquarters and legal domicile to a decision of the Congress, and article 67 places them in Zurich, Switzerland.[1] Olympedia gives the same headquarters, Zürich.[3] FIFA is thus constituted under Swiss association law, and under article 49 it recognises the Court of Arbitration for Sport, seated in Lausanne.[1]

The founding date is Olympedia’s, a source independent of FIFA; FIFA’s own history page could not be retrieved. Olympedia also records FIFA’s first organising landmark: FIFA “would organize the first FIFA World Cup in 1930, in Montevideo, Uruguay”.[3] Gianni Infantino is the president in Olympedia’s current record.[3]

How is FIFA recognised?

FIFA is a full member of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations: ASOIF’s member list, retrieved on 30 September 2026, names the “Fédération Internationale de Football Association” among its 30 full members.[4] WADA’s list of Code signatories carries FIFA under “ASOIF members”, within the international federations of the Olympic Movement.[5] Olympedia notes that “The 1908 Olympic football tournament is considered the first actual Olympic event recognized by FIFA”, and that women’s football entered the Olympics at Atlanta 1996.[3] Olympedia’s record gives 1904, the year of FIFA’s founding, as the year of its IOC recognition.[3] No IOC decision giving that date could be retrieved from a primary source.

Russia. On Monday 28 February 2022 the FIFA Council Bureau and the UEFA Executive Committee jointly decided that “all Russian teams, whether national representative teams or club teams, shall be suspended from participation in both FIFA and UEFA competitions until further notice”.[6] No later FIFA decision lifting that suspension could be retrieved. See Russia and national suspensions and neutral athletes.

Within football, the Statutes recognise six confederations (article 22) and the independent Court of Arbitration for Sport (article 49).[1] See also Court of Arbitration for Sport.

What does FIFA organise?

The FIFA World Cup was first held in 1930 in Montevideo, Uruguay.[3] The 2026 edition was hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States, with 48 teams playing 104 matches, as Concacaf reported on 5 July 2026.[11] FIFA records that Spain’s “senior men's team won the FIFA World Cup 2026™ in July”.[10]

The FIFA Women’s World Cup was first held in 1991.[3] The next edition is the FIFA Women’s World Cup Brazil 2027, which FIFA described on 27 September 2026 as less than a year away.[10] FIFA also stages the FIFA Club World Cup and youth, futsal and beach soccer world cups, under the Statutes’ objective “to organise its own international competitions”.[1][3] Among the youth events, the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Poland 2026 ended with its final in Łódź on 27 September 2026, drawn 0–0, Spain beating DPR Korea on penalties.[10]

The men’s and women’s Olympic football tournaments are part of the Olympic Games programme.[3]

Who are its members?

FIFA’s members are national associations. FIFA counts “211 countries and territories across six continents”, and describes its member associations as “responsible for the development and governance of football within their territory, including organising competitions, nurturing grassroots programmes, and promoting the sport at all levels.”[2] Olympedia, independently, gives 211 member associations as of January 2026.[3]

Article 22 of the Statutes groups the members into six confederations: CONMEBOL for South America, the AFC for Asia, UEFA for Europe, CAF for Africa, Concacaf for North and Central America and the Caribbean, and the OFC for Oceania.[1] See UEFA, CONMEBOL and Concacaf.

A national association such as the U.S. Soccer Federation is bound, like every member, by article 7 of the Statutes to play under the Laws of the Game issued by The IFAB.[1] The four British associations have a second role as members of The IFAB beside FIFA.[7]

References

  1. FIFA — FIFA Statutes, May 2024 edition. Accessed 2026-09-30.
  2. FIFA — Member associations. Accessed 2026-09-30.
  3. Olympedia — Fédération Internationale de Football Association (organisation page). Accessed 2026-09-30.
  4. ASOIF — Members. Accessed 2026-09-30.
  5. WADA — Code signatories. Accessed 2026-09-30.
  6. FIFA — FIFA/UEFA suspend Russian clubs and national teams from all competitions (28 February 2022). Accessed 2026-09-30.
  7. The IFAB — official site. Accessed 2026-09-30.
  8. FIFA — Football Tribunal. Accessed 2026-09-30.
  9. FIFA — Football Tribunal sets new activity record as regulatory role expands (30 September 2026). Accessed 2026-09-30.
  10. FIFA — Spain crown golden generation as Poland stage landmark FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup (27 September 2026). Accessed 2026-09-30.
  11. Concacaf — Concacaf House: 41 for One heads to New York for FIFA World Cup 2026 finale (5 July 2026). Accessed 2026-09-30.
  12. FIFA — Legal documents. Accessed 2026-09-30.
  13. FIFA — FIFA Congress (Extraordinary FIFA Congress 2026). Accessed 2026-09-30.