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This article is about the international association football organisation. Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a Team sport played between two teams of eleven players and is widely considered For the video games, see FIFA series. FIFA Football, also known as FIFA Soccer or FIFA in some regions is a series of football (soccer Video games
Fédération Internationale de Football Association


Motto For the Game. A motto (from the Italian word motto, meaning witticism sentence is a phrase meant to formally describe the general motivation or intention of a social group For the World.
Formation May 21, 1904
Type Sports federation
Headquarters Zürich, Switzerland
Membership 208 national associations
Official languages English, German, French, Spanish
President Sepp Blatter
Website http://www.fifa.com/

The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (International Federation of Association Football), commonly known by its acronym, FIFA (usually pronounced /fifə/ or /fifæ/), is the international governing body of association football. The date of establishment or date of founding of an Institution is the date on which that institution chooses to claim as its starting point Events 878 - Syracuse Italy is captured by the Muslim sultan of Sicily. Year 1904 ( MCMIV) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year starting on This is a list of international sports federations, each of which serves as a non-governmental governing body for a given Sport and administers its sport Headquarters (HQ denotes the location where most if not all of the important functions of an organization are concentrated Zürich (, Zürich German: Züri, Zurich, Zurigo; in English generally Zurich) is the largest city in Switzerland and capital of the Switzerland (English pronunciation; Schweiz Swiss German: Schwyz or Schwiiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra officially the Swiss Confederation This is a list of the men's national Association football teams in the world An official language is a Language that is given a special legal status in a particular Country, State, or other territory English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people The following is a list of Presidents of FIFA, the world Football (soccer governing body. Sepp Blatter (born March 10, 1936 in Visp, Valais, Switzerland) is the 8th and current President of FIFA. A website (alternatively web site or Web site, a back-construction from the Proper noun World Wide Web) is a collection of Web pages A sport governing body is a sports organization that has a regulatory or sanctioning function Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a Team sport played between two teams of eleven players and is widely considered Its headquarters are in Zürich, Switzerland, and its current president is Joseph Blatter. Zürich (, Zürich German: Züri, Zurich, Zurigo; in English generally Zurich) is the largest city in Switzerland and capital of the Switzerland (English pronunciation; Schweiz Swiss German: Schwyz or Schwiiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra officially the Swiss Confederation The following is a list of Presidents of FIFA, the world Football (soccer governing body. Sepp Blatter (born March 10, 1936 in Visp, Valais, Switzerland) is the 8th and current President of FIFA. FIFA is responsible for the organization and governance of football's major international tournaments, most notably the FIFA World Cup, held since 1930. The FIFA World Cup, occasionally called the Football World Cup, but usually referred to simply as the World Cup, is an international Association football

FIFA has 208 member associations, which is 16 more than the United Nations and 3 more than the International Olympic Committee. The United Nations ( UN) is an International organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in International law, International security

Contents

History

Main article: History of FIFA

The need for a single body to oversee the worldwide game became apparent at the beginning of the 20th century with the increasing popularity of international fixtures. FIFA ( Fédération Internationale de Football Association) is the international governing body of Association football. FIFA was founded in Paris on May 21, 1904 — the French name and acronym persist to this day, even outside French-speaking countries. Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city Events 878 - Syracuse Italy is captured by the Muslim sultan of Sicily. Year 1904 ( MCMIV) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year starting on French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people Its first president was Robert Guérin. Robert Guérin (born June 28, 1876 -?? 1952] in France) was the president of FIFA from 1904 to 1906

FIFA presided over its first international competition in 1906, but this met with little approval or success. This, in combination with economic factors, led to the swift replacement of Guérin with Daniel Burley Woolfall from England, by now a member association. Daniel Burley Woolfall (born June 15, 1852 in Blackburn, England) was the president of FIFA from 1906 to 1918 England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland The next tournament staged, the football competition for the 1908 Olympics in London was more successful, despite the presence of professional footballers, contrary to the founding principles of FIFA. At the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, England, an official football tournament was contested for the first time

Membership of FIFA expanded beyond Europe with the application of South Africa in 1909, Argentina and Chile in 1912, and Canada and the United States in 1913. SAFA redirects here For the JAA programme see SAFA programme. The Argentine Football Association (AFA ( Asociación del Fútbol Argentino is the governing body of football in Argentina. The Federación de Fútbol de Chile, is the governing body of football in Chile. The Canadian Soccer Association is the governing body of soccer ( Association football) in Canada The United States Soccer Federation ( USSF) (trademarked as "U

FIFA, however, foundered during World War I, with many players sent off to war and the possibility of travel for international fixtures severely limited. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All 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. "Home nation" (common noun redirects here home nation is also used to refer to the host country of Multi-sport events (eg The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The Home Nations later resumed their membership.

The FIFA collection is held by the National Football Museum in England. The National Football Museum is a Museum in Preston, England, founded to preserve conserve and interpret several important collections of Association England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland

Laws of the game

The laws of football that govern the game are not solely the responsibility of FIFA; they are maintained by a body called the International Football Association Board (IFAB). The Laws of the Game are the rules governing a game of Association football. The International Football Association Board ( IFAB) is the body that determines the Laws of the Game of association football. 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, in recognition of their unique contribution to the creation and history of the game. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The Football Association, also known as simply The FA, is the governing body of football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey The Scottish Football Association (also known as the SFA and The Scottish FA or the "worst league in the world" is the governing body of The Football Association of Wales (Cymdeithas Bêl-droed Cymru is the governing body of Association football in Wales, being a member of both FIFA The Irish Football Association ( IFA) is the organising body for football in Northern Ireland, and had historically been the governing body for the whole Changes to the laws of the game must be agreed by at least six of the total eight delegates.

Structure

Map of the World with the six confederations.
Map of the World with the six confederations.

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 a representative from each affiliated national federation. The Congress assembles in ordinary session now once every year, and extraordinary sessions have been held once a year since 1998 & now as and when requested. Only the Congress can pass changes to FIFA's by-laws.

Congress elects the President of FIFA, its secretary-general and the other members of FIFA's Executive Committee. The President and secretary-general 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 organization in the intervals of Congress. FIFA's worldwide organizational 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, the Referee's Committee, etc.

Aside from its worldwide institutions (presidency, Executive Board, Congress, etc. ) FIFA has created confederations which oversee the game in the different continents and regions of the world. National federations, and not the continental Confederations, are members of FIFA. The continental Confederations are provided for in FIFA's by-laws. National federations must claim membership to both FIFA and the confederation in which their nation is geographically resident for their teams to qualify for entry to FIFA's competitions (with a few geographic exceptions listed below):

     AFC - Asian Football Confederation in Asia and Australia
     CAF - Confédération Africaine de Football in Africa
     CONCACAF - Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football in North America and Central America
     CONMEBOL - Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol in South America
     OFC - Oceania Football Confederation in Oceania
     UEFA - Union Européenne de Football Association in Europe. The 46 member Asian Football Confederation ( AFC) is the governing body of football in Asia, excluding Cyprus and Israel, and including For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. The 53 member CAF ( African Football Confederation), ( French: Confédération Africaine de Football), ( Arabic: الإتحاد الأفريقى لكرة CONCACAF (the Confederation of North Central American and Caribbean Association Football) is the continent-wide governing body for football in North America, CONMEBOL or CSF ( Con federación Suda' me' ricana de Fút' bol', South American Football Confederation is the governing body of Football (soccer South America is a Continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC is one of the six "continental" confederations of international football, consisting of Papua New Guinea, New The Union of European Football Associations (Union des associations européennes de football is the administrative and controlling body for European football.

Nations straddling the traditional boundary between Europe and Asia have generally had their choice of confederation. As a result, a number of transcontinental nations including Russia, Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan have chosen to become part of UEFA despite the bulk of their land area being in Asia. This is a list of countries spanning more than one continent, sometimes referred to as transcontinental states. The Russian Football Union ( RFU) ( Russian: Российский Футбольный Союз) is the governing body of football in Russia The Turkish Football Federation ( TFF) also called Turkish Football Association, ( Türkiye Futbol Federasyonu) is the governing body of football The Football Federation of Armenia ( FFA) is the governing body of football in Armenia. The Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan ( Azərbaycan Futbol Federasiyaları Assosiasiyası, AFFA) is the governing body of football in Israel, although lying entirely within Asia, joined UEFA in 1994, after decades of isolation by many of its Middle Eastern neighbours. The Israel Football Association (ההתאחדות לכדורגל בישראל HaHit'aḥdut leKaduregel beIsrael) also known as the IFA, is the governing body of Kazakhstan moved from AFC to UEFA in 2002. The Football Federation of Kazakhstan ( Kazakh: Қазақстанның Футбол Федерациясы Russian: Федерация Футбола Казахстана Australia was the latest to move from OFC to AFC in January 2006. Football Federation Australia (FFA is the governing body for the sport of football (soccer in Australia.

Guyana and Suriname have always been CONCACAF members despite being South American countries. The Guyana national football team, nicknamed the Golden Jaguars, is the national team of Guyana and is controlled by the Guyana Football Federation The Suriname national football team is the national team of Suriname and is controlled by the Surinaamse Voetbal Bond.

No team from the OFC is offered automatic qualification to the World Cup. In recent World Cup qualifying cycles, the winner of their section had to play a play-off against a CONMEBOL side, a hurdle at which Australia have traditionally fallen. In an effort to improve their national and domestic teams Australia moved to the Asian Federation 2006. This allows Australia to play in Asian tournaments of a much higher standard (as well as being more numerous) such as the AFC Asian Cup and the Asian Champions League. The AFC Champions League is the current annual Asian club football competition hosted by Asian Football Confederation (AFC

Australia successfully qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup by winning just such a playoff in a penalty shootout against Uruguay, just a few months after the clearance to move was granted. The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th instance of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament Penalty shootouts, properly named kicks from the penalty mark, are a method sometimes used to decide which team progresses to the next stage of a tournament (or wins the tournament The Uruguay national football team is controlled by the Asociación Uruguaya de Fútbol. Initially, the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification cycle was planned to provide the winner of OFC qualifying with a place in the final AFC qualification group, but this was scrapped in favour of a playoff between the OFC winner and an AFC team for a World Cup place. The 2010 FIFA World Cup will be the 19th FIFA World Cup, an international tournament for football, that is scheduled to take place between 11 June and In the qualification process for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the six FIFA confederations were allocated a share of the 31 remaining spots on the basis of the strength

In total, FIFA recognises 208 national federations 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. This is a list of the men's national Association football teams in the world FIFA assigns a three-letter code (dubbed FIFA Trigramme) to each of its member and non-member countries Curiously, FIFA has more member states than the United Nations, as FIFA recognises several non-sovereign entities as distinct nations, most notably the four Home Nations within the United Kingdom. The United Nations ( UN) is an International organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in International law, International security "Home nation" (common noun redirects here home nation is also used to refer to the host country of Multi-sport events (eg The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The FIFA World Rankings are updated monthly and rank each team based on their performance in international competitions, qualifiers, and friendly matches. History FIFA World Ranking Leaders In December 1992 FIFA first published There is also a world ranking for women's football, updated four times a year. Differences with men's system There are several important distinctions in the FIFA Women's World Rankings formula FIFA Women's World Rankings are only published four times

Recognitions and awards

FIFA awards, each year, the title of FIFA World Player of the Year to the most prestigious player of the year, as part of its annual awards ceremony which also recognises team and international football achievements. The FIFA World Player of the Year is an Association football award given annually to the male and female player who are thought to be the best in the world based

As part of its centennial celebrations in 2004, FIFA organised a "Match of the Century" between France and Brazil

Governance and game development

FIFA frequently takes active roles in the running of the sport and developing the game around the world. The French national football team represents the nation of France in international football. The Brazil national football team is the national team of Brazil and is managed by the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF that represents Brazil in international One of its unique policies is to suspend teams and associated members from international competition when a government interferes in the running of FIFA's associate member organisations or if the associate is not functioning properly.

A recent high-profile suspension was of the Greek Football Federation for political interference. [1] Another recent suspension was on the Kenya Football Federation because it was not running the game in Kenya properly [2] and also of Iran.

The Asia wing of FIFA, the AFC is soon to force 22 leading associations in Asia to increase transparency, competition, quality training and a proper league structure with relegation, promotion and a 2nd division. Suspension will be imposed on any associate which doesn't co-operate with the reform outlines. Notably, one of the associations being targeted is that of Australia, a country whose professional sport leagues are all organised on the model of franchised teams and closed league membership, a system most commonly identified with North America. Football Federation Australia (FFA is the governing body for the sport of football (soccer in Australia. [3]

The Iraq national team was suspended in May 2008, due to government interference with independent national sports authorities. [1]

FIFA altitude ban

Main article: FIFA altitude ban
La Paz, Bolivia. 3,600 m (12,000 feet) above sea level
La Paz, Bolivia. Nuestra Señora de La Paz is the administrative Capital of Bolivia, as well as the departmental capital of La Paz Department. The Republic of Bolivia (República de Bolivia) named after Simón Bolívar, is a Landlocked country in central South America. 3,600 m (12,000 feet) above sea level

FIFA attempted to address the issue of extreme altitude in May 2007, ruling that no future international matches could be played at an altitude over 2500 m (8200 ft). The term above mean sea level ( AMSL) refers to the Elevation (on the ground or Altitude (in the Air) of any object relative to the [2]

The FIFA altitude ban would most notably have affected the national teams of Andean countries. The Andes form the world's longest exposed Mountain range. They lie as a continuous chain of highland along the western coast of South America. Under this proposal, Bolivia would no longer be able to play international matches in La Paz (3,600 m), Ecuador would be unable to play in Quito (2,800 m), and Colombia could no longer play in Bogotá (2,640 m). The Bolivia national football team is the national team of Bolivia and is controlled by the Federación Boliviana de Fútbol. Nuestra Señora de La Paz is the administrative Capital of Bolivia, as well as the departmental capital of La Paz Department. The Ecuador national football team is the national team of Ecuador and is governed by the Federación Ecuatoriana de Fútbol. Quito, officially San Francisco de Quito, is the Capital of Ecuador in northwestern South America. The Colombia National Team represents Colombia in international football competitions and is controlled by the Federación Colombiana de Fútbol. Bogotá —officially named Bogotá DC (DC for " Distrito Capital " which means "Capital District" formerly called Santa Fe de Bogotá

However, FIFA soon backed away from the proposal after international condemnation,[3] and under political pressure from the CONMEBOL countries, first extending the maximum altitude to 2,800 m (9,190 ft) in June 2007, which made Bogotá and Quito viable international venues once again, and then waving the restriction for La Paz in July 2007. CONMEBOL or CSF ( Con federación Suda' me' ricana de Fút' bol', South American Football Confederation is the governing body of Football (soccer [4]

Commercial activities

FIFA announced in April 2004 that it is expecting to earn $144 million profit on $1. 64 billion in revenue between 2003 and 2006 (the 4 year cycle including the 2006 World Cup).

FIFA has licensed its name and copyrighted content to computer game designer EA Sports to provide a number of football simulation games for the PC and various game consoles. A personal computer Game (also known as a computer game or simply PC game) is a Video game played on a Personal computer, rather EA Sports is a brand name used by Electronic Arts since 1993 to distribute games based on Sports Formerly a gimmick inside Electronic Arts sports A personal computer ( PC) is any Computer whose original sales price size and capabilities make it useful for individuals and which is intended to be operated A new installment in this FIFA series of games is introduced each year, and additional versions are released with World Cup branding to coincide with these tournaments. FIFA Football, also known as FIFA Soccer or FIFA in some regions is a series of football (soccer Video games 2005 saw an additional "urban football" video game franchise, FIFA Street and its sequel FIFA Street 2. FIFA Street is a Sports Video game developed by EA Canada and published by Electronic Arts (EA FIFA Street 2 is the Sequel to FIFA Street. A new "trick stick beat" system was introduced and new authentic tricks were also introduced In August 2006 EA and FIFA announced that they would be extending their exclusive deal for another four years, covering the 2010/11 season. [5]

Allegations of financial irregularities

In May 2006 British investigative reporter Andrew Jennings' book Foul (Harper Collins) caused controversy within the football world by detailing an alleged international cash-for-contracts scandal following the collapse of FIFA's marketing partner ISL, and revealed how some football officials have been urged to secretly repay the sweeteners they received. Andrew Jennings is an Investigative reporter, writer and documentary filmmaker HarperCollins is a Publishing company owned by News Corporation. The book also exposed the vote-rigging that went on behind closed doors in the fight for Sepp Blatter's continued control of FIFA.

Nearly simultaneous with the release of Foul was a BBC television expose by Jennings and BBC producer Roger Corke for the BBC news programme Panorama. Panorama is the longest-running current affairs documentary series in the world In this hour-long programme screened on June 11, 2006, Jennings and the Panorama team submit that Sepp Blatter is being investigated by Swiss police over his role in a secret deal to repay more than £1m worth of bribes pocketed by football officials. Events 1184 BC - Trojan War: Troy is sacked and burned according to the calculations of Eratosthenes. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Switzerland (English pronunciation; Schweiz Swiss German: Schwyz or Schwiiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra officially the Swiss Confederation Bribery, a form of pecuniary corruption is an act usually implying money or gift given that alters the behaviour of the recipient in ways not consistent with the duties of that person

All testimonies offered in the Panorama expose were provided through a disguised voice, appearance, or both, save one; Mel Brennan, a lecturer at Towson University in the United States, former Head of Special Projects for CONCACAF, a liaison to the e-FIFA project and a FIFA World Cup delegate, became the first high-level football insider to go public with substantial allegations of greed, corruption, nonfeasance and malfeasance by CONCACAF and FIFA leadership. Towson University, often referred to as TU or simply Towson for short is an American Public university located in Towson in The United States of America —commonly referred to as the CONCACAF (the Confederation of North Central American and Caribbean Association Football) is the continent-wide governing body for football in North America, During the Panorama expose, Brennan and Jennings exposed allegedly inappropriate allocations of money at CONCACAF, and drew connections between ostensible CONCACAF criminality and similar behaviours at FIFA. His book, The Apprentice: Tragicomic Times Among the Men Running - and Ruining - World Football is due out in late 2008.

FIFA Anthem

Since the 1994 FIFA World Cup like the UEFA Champions League FIFA adopts an anthem composed by the German composer Franz Lambert. The 1994 FIFA World Cup, the 15th staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in the United States from June 17 to July 17 1994 See also List of European Cup and UEFA Champions League winners The UEFA Champions League, which evolved from the European Champion Clubs' Cup is a seasonal club Franz Lambert (born March 11, 1948 Heppenheim, Germany) is a German Composer and Organist. The FIFA Anthem or Hymn is played at the beginning of FIFA structured matches and tournaments such as international friendlies, the FIFA World Cup, FIFA Women's World Cup, and FIFA U-20 World Cup. [4]

Further reading

References

  1. ^ http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90864881
  2. ^ Focus on 57th FIFA Congress. FIFA (2007-05-27). Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 927 - Simeon the Great, Tsar of Bulgaria, dies 1120 - Richard III of Capua is anointed Retrieved on 2007-06-13. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1525 - Martin Luther marries Katharina von Bora, against the Celibacy rule decreed by the Roman Catholic Church for
  3. ^ New York Sun: "FIFA's Altitude Ban Draws Fire From South America"
  4. ^ "Blatter will wave La Paz altitude ban", Sports Illustrated, 2007-07-06. The New York Sun was a contemporary five-day Daily newspaper published in New York City from 2002 until 2008 Sports Illustrated is an American Sports Magazine owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1044 - The Battle of Ménfő takes place 1189 - Richard the Lionheart is crowned King of England Retrieved on 2007-07-15. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1099 - First Crusade: Christian soldiers take the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem after the final  
  5. ^ FIFA & EA For Another Four Years - TotalGaming.net news, 14 August 2006

External links

Stardock Corporation is a Software development company founded in 1991 and incorporated in 1993 as Stardock Systems. Events 1183 - Taira no Munemori and the Taira clan take the young Emperor Antoku and the three sacred treasures Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.
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