FIFA is a football governing body that regulates and make rules to ensure transparency and equality in football. FIFA has been a major factor in making football entertaining and most popular sports in the world. Football has become a lucrative business and generate money for club owners and also serve as livelihood for players, coaches and other staffs.
The Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), which was established in 1904 to promote unity among national football associations, is arguably the most prestigious sports organization in the world with 209 members—more than the United Nations.
In order to “promote the game of Association Football as opposed to rugby or American football, to foster friendly relations among National Associations, Confederations, and their officials and players, by promoting the organization of football matches at all levels, and to control every type of association football by taking steps as shall be deemed necessary,” FIFA was founded on May 21, 1904, by seven national associations: Belgium, Denmark, France, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.
FIFA was founded as a result of an increase in international matches shortly after the turn of the 20th century. European football officials felt that this increased competition needed a governing body, so they convened in Paris under the direction of French journalist Robert Guerin to determine the direction of the sport. Guerin served as FIFA’s first president from 1904 to 1906, and seven other men have held the position for 33 years, from 1921 to 1954.
Gianni Infantino, an Italian, was elected to the position of FIFA president during the 2016 Extraordinary Congress, which was called in response to accusations of corruption against multiple FIFA officials. This led to the resignation of former FIFA President Joseph Sepp Blatter and his subsequent ban from the organization by its Ethics Committee. Having been FIFA’s general secretary since 2009, Infantino will hold the position for three years.
FIFA is in charge of football , which has grown to be the most popular sport in the world. According to the Federation’s 2006 “Big Count,” there are over 150 million registered players worldwide including 10 million women, and billions of people watch the game in stadiums and on television. The 2014 World Cup in Brazil was televised in more than 200 countries, and 3,429,873 spectators watched the 64 matches inside the stadiums, which is the second-highest total attendance behind USA 1994 (68,991).
FIFA, as football’s supreme governing body, controls every aspect of the game, including rules of play, player transfers, international competitions like the FIFA World Cup, standards for coaching, refereeing, and sports medicine, and global soccer development promotions.
Despite the challenges and speculations over the credibility of the operations of FIFA lately it still not dispute the fact that, the organization has worked hard to bring football to the highest level across the globe. Recently, the Video Assistant Referee(VAR) approved by the International Football Association Board(IFAB) was introduced to ensure fair decision by referees during football matches. The organization is still working around the clock to maintain football’s significance around the world. What will become of football in the years to come, will football be relevant as it is today or people are going to lose interest? all depends on how FIFA regulate and manage the game to match the peoples interest.
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