Today in History: International football governing body FIFA was founded
Founded 114 years ago, FIFA has become the leader in the governing of world football with 211 nations now making up its member list.
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (International Federation of Association Football) has grown exponentially from its original seven members to the 211 member nations that constitute the global football governing body.
The need for a single body to oversee association football around the world became apparent at the beginning of the 20th century, with the increasing popularity of international fixtures.
In turn, 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.
The French name and acronym are still used today, even outside French-speaking countries.
The seven 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.
The first president of FIFA was Robert Guérin who was replaced in 1906 by Daniel Woolfall from England, which was by then a member of the association.
The first tournament that FIFA staged was the association football competition for the 1908 Olympics in London.
FIFA’s membership charter expanded beyond Europe with applications from South Africa in 1909, Argentina in 1912, Canada and Chile in 1913, and the United States in 1914.
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, albeit at the cost of the withdrawal of the Home Nations of the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales, and the island of Ireland), which cited an unwillingness to participate in international competitions with their recent World War enemies.
The first World Cup was subsequently held in 1930 in Montevideo, Uruguay.
There have been a further 19 World Cups all around the world, with the 21st taking place this June and July in Russia.
FIFA now consists of six continental/ regional confederations around the world with a total of 211 member national football associations.
The six confederations that make up FIFA are;
• Asian Football Confederation (AFC; 47 members)
• Confederation of African Football (CAF; 56 members)
• Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF; 41 members)
• Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol (South American Football Association; CONMEBOL; 10 members)
• Oceania Football Confederation (OFC; 11 members)
• Union of European Football Associations (UEFA; 55 members)
FIFA is also in charge of 17 international men’s and women’s tournaments around the world.
The tournaments and their holders are:
• FIFA World Cup: Men – Germany (2014)/ Women – United States (2015)
• FIFA Confederations Cup: Men – Germany (2017)
• Olympic Tournament: Men – Brazil (2016)/ Women – Germany (2016)
• FIFA U-20 World Cup: Men – England (2017)/ Women – North Korea (2016)
• FIFA U-17 World Cup: Men – England (2017)/ Women – North Korea (2016)
• Youth Olympic Tournament: Men – Peru (2014)/ Women – China PR (2014)
• FIFA Club World Cup: Men – Real Madrid (2017)
• FIFA Futsal World Cup: Men – Argentina (2016)
• FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup: Men – Brazil (2017)
• Blue Stars/ FIFA Youth Cup: Men – Dinamo Zagreb (2018)/ Women – BSC Young Boys (2018)
• FIFA Interactive World Cup: Spencer Ealing (2017)
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