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What is FIFA?
FIFA or the Federation Internationale de Football Association is the highest governing body of football in the world. It is the international governing body of association football, futsal, and beach soccer. FIFA is a non-profit organisation.
Founded in 1904, FIFA was launched to oversee international competition among the national associations of Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. FIFA now comprises 211 member nations. It is headquartered in Zurich and the current president is Gianni Infantino.
Objective of FIFA
The primary objective of FIFA is to spread football internationally, making sure that the game is accessible to everyone around the world, and to promote integrity and fair play.
FIFA is responsible for the organisation and promotion of international tournaments, including the men’s World Cup, which started in 1930, the women’s World Cup, which began in 1991. FIFA is affiliated to the International Olympic Committee and is also a member of the International Football Association Board, which is responsible for setting the rules of football.
However, the responsibility of enforcing the rules lies with FIFA.
6 regional confederations affiliated to FIFA
Besides FIFA, there are 6 regional confederations affiliated to FIFA, which manage football. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is the governing body for Asia and Australia. Confederation of African Football (CAF) has 56 members, Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCAF) has 41 members, Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol (CONMEBOL) is the South American federation with 10 members, Oceania Football Federation (OFC) has 14 members including New Zealand, and Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) with 55 members is the governing body for Europe.
FIFA tournaments
FIFA conducts FIFA World Cup, FIFA Women's World Cup, FIFA U-20 World Cup, FIFA U-17 World Cup, Football at the Summer Olympics, FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, FIFA Women's U-17 World Cup, FIFA Futsal World Cup, FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, and FIFA Club World Cup.
Men’s World Cup
The men’s football World Cup organised by FIFA is one the biggest sporting events of the world. It is one of the most widely viewed and followed sporting events, even surpassing the viewership of Olympics. The 2006 World Cup’s cumulative viewership of all matches was approximately 26.29 billion and an estimated 715.1 million people watched the final of the tournament.
It is held every four years. The last tournament was held in 2018 in Russia and France won the title.
Latest Updates on FIFA
FIFA's 211 member federations are holding an online meeting on Wednesday to rubberstamp the decision to give Saudi Arabia the 2034 World Cup
The 2030 World Cup also will be awarded to a six-nation, three-continent project led by co-hosts Spain, Portugal Morocco
The World Cup, which will be held as part of the FIFAe Finals 2024 in Riyadh, will feature competitions on both console and mobile platforms
The league said its partner in the US, Relevent Sports, is working with FIFA to make sure the league is cleared to host the match outside of Spain
Former US national team captain Becky Sauerbrunn voiced concern for women who are imprisoned in Saudi Arabia.
The event, which is set to be played every four years, includes 32 teams from FIFA's six soccer confederations. Inter Miami will play in the tournament opener, scheduled for June 15, 2025
The Seattle Sounders, which earned a spot in the competition by winning the 2022 CONCACAF Champions League, will host all three of their group matches at their home stadium.
FIFA's council approved interim transfer market rules that give member federations the option of opening an exceptional transfer window from June 1-10.
The compromise decisions came more than four months after Palestinian officials had urged FIFA to suspend Israel's membership at a meeting in May
Toselli, a FIFA women's football technical expert, had previously conducted the women's football strategy workshop in New Delhi in June this year.
Standard edition of FC 25 will be available starting September 27, while pre-ordering the ultimate edition will offer early access to the game on September 20 with in-game perks
Football is seldom ever just about sports, and that's especially the case in this tournament
Southgate was appointed England manager in 2016 and led the team to the semifinals of the 2018 World Cup
The French Football Federation said it had received positive news about Mbappe's chances of continuing at the tournament as he will not need immediate surgery
India could not make the third round of the World Cup qualifier following a 1-2 defeat against Qatar in their final second round match
While the players' maternity leave was previously adopted in 2020, the new rules extend it to coaches, non-biological and adoptive mothers
Fans are likely to object to their teams' home matches potentially being moved thousands of miles (kilometers) away
Key defender Jhingan, who sustained a right knee injury during India's Asian Cup group match against Syria in January, missed out of the list
The tournament will be held in the United States for the first time next summer, the report said, adding that a deal could be announced as soon as this month
AFA's general secretary Sangrang Brahma said this ahead of the India-Aghanistan 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier to be played in the city on Tuesday