The Birth of the Federation of Internationale de Football Association, FIFA
Who, How, and When the Fédération Internationale de Football Association Was Formed.
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association, FIFA, which is arguably the most prestigious sports organization in the world, can simply be defined as a child of necessity.
How?
Find out below.
As you may have read in the first post on this blog, Soccer Fans Arena, football has a very long history.
People started playing what looks like football as far back as 3,000 years ago, before Christ, but the proper development of football into what it has become today, the most popular sport in the world, started in the mid-19thcentury in England.
By the beginning of the 20th century, football had become popular, especially across Europe.
As a result of that heartwarming development and the increasing popularity of the game, the need for a single and a special body to oversee the worldwide game became apparent.
Following that progressive thinking, some thoughtful leaders of the national associations of Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland came together, on May 21, 1904, to give birth to the French-named organisation, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association, FIFA, whose motto is: “For the Game. For the World.”
Who, How, and When the Fédération Internationale de Football Association Was Formed
The highest international governing body of association football in the world, FIFA, was specifically formed for one main reason:
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 or advisable.”
I was very surprised to note that England was not mentioned as one of the founding members of FIFA, considering the fact that most of the development of what we know as football or soccer, today, took place there until I discovered the truth of why it was so.
Pride was the reason England did not take part in the formation of FIFA.
England and the other British countries rejected the invitation to take part in the formation of FIFA because they thought, as the inventor of football, why should they subordinate themselves to a fledgling association.
England, however, maybe reluctantly, joined the FIFA family in 1905, but refused to take part in the 1930 and 1934 World Cup held in Uruguay and Italy respectively, and in the 1938 outing hosted by France.
England’s first participation in the FIFA World Cup was in the fourth edition hosted by Brazil in 1950.
HOW FIFA EVOLVED AFTER ITS FORMATION
From that humble beginning, with just a few association members, the federation began to expand beyond Europe, with the application of South Africa in 1909, Argentina in 1912, Canada and Chile in 1913, and the United States in 1914.
And today, more than 100 years in existence, and still standing very strong, the fast-growing international body, FIFA, can boast of more than 210 national associations, a number that is larger than that of the United Nations, and still counting.
Each of those two hundred and something national associations belongs to one of the following six regional confederations that are affiliated to FIFA and under which the soccer-loving world is divided, namely:
- AFC – Asian Football Confederation in Asia
- CAF – Confederation of African 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; and
- UEFA – Union of European Football Associations in Europe.
Nations straddling the traditional boundary between Europe and Asia have generally had their choice of confederation.
As a result of this freedom of an open cheque, a number of transcontinental nations including Russia, Turkey, Armenia, and Azerbaijan have chosen to become part of UEFA despite the fact that the bulk of their land area is in Asia.
Israel, although lying entirely within Asia, joined UEFA in 1994, after decades of isolation by many of its Middle Eastern neighbors.
Kazakhstan, on its own, left the Asia Football Confederation, where it naturally belonged, to join the Union of European Football Associations, UEFA, in 2002.
Guyana and Suriname, which are traditionally South American countries, belong to the Confederation of North, Central America, and Caribbean Association Football, CONCACAF.
The Lucky Country, Australia, left Oceania Football Confederation, OFC, in 2006 to join the Asian Football Confederation, AFC.
ORGANISATION AND MANAGEMENT
The Federation Internationale de Football Association, FIFA, comprises representatives from each of the above-mentioned six affiliated confederations, all of whom make up FIFA’s Congress.
It is the members of the Congress that elect the President of FIFA, its Secretary-General, and the other members of FIFA’s Council, formerly known as FIFA’s Executive Committee.
The FIFA’s Council, which is headed by the President of FIFA, is the main decision-making body of the organization.
The day-to-day organisation and management of FIFA rest squarely upon the shoulders of the President and the Secretary-General, both of whom operate from the FIFA’s Secretariat in Zurich, Switzerland.
COMPETITIONS
FIFA’s first international football tournament between nations outside the Olympic framework, after it was founded in 1904, was held in Switzerland in 1906.
Unfortunately, the official history of FIFA describes the competition as a colossal failure.
That poor outing, coupled with some economic factors, led to the swift replacement of its first-ever president, Robert Guerin, a French journalist, with Daniel Burley Woolfall from England.
FIFA’s next tournament was the football competition for the 1908 Olympics held in London and it was more successful than its Olympic predecessors.
As FIFA began to grow, from strength to strength, after then, it began to organise and to promote more and more soccer competitions.
Some of the soccer events that it organises are:
Men
FIFA World Cup
Men’s Olympic Football Tournament (U-23)
FIFA U-20 World Cup
FIFA U-17 World Cup
FIFA Futsal World Cup
Men’s Youth Olympic Futsal Tournament (U-20)
FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup
FIFA Arab Cup (senior teams of the UAFA (Arab world)
FIFA Club World Cup
FIFA Youth Cup
Women
FIFA Women’s World Cup
Women’s Olympic Football Tournament
FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup
FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup
Women’s Youth Olympic Futsal Tournament (U-20)
SUSTENANCE
FIFA is one of the most successful and self-sustaining non-profit organization in the world.
One of the most interesting things about it, to me, is its tremendous earning power, which it ploughs back into the development of the game of football.
Most of those earnings, which run into billions of dollars, come from organizing and marketing of its international competitions mentioned above.
FIFA makes that much from the sales of television rights, marketing rights, and licensing rights, as well as revenue from ticket sales.
It is from those proceeds that it pays prize money to the participating nations, accounts for the travel and accommodation of players, and supports staff and match officials, among other expenses.
It is also from it that it makes available for the host country a FIFA World Cup legacy fund to be used in the future for the development of the game in the country.
THE FUTURE OF FIFA
Football or soccer has come to stay, and long as it remains the incredibly popular sport with a diverse fan base spread across the globe, which it is now, FIFA will most likely continue to thrive with its numerous activities and be able to generate massive revenue.
In summary, if FIFA continues in this commendable way and manner, and without corruption, then, its future is very bright; it’ll continue to dominate other sporting organisations, both in achievements and in popularity.
Who, How, and When the Fédération Internationale de Football Association Was Formed. THE END.
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