The founding of FIFA

FIFA — the Fédération Internationale de Football Association — is the world governing body for football. It runs the men's and women's World Cups, sits at the top of the international football pyramid alongside the six continental confederations, and has a joint role in Law changes through the International Football Association Board.

The body has been in continuous existence since its founding in 1904, although its membership, scale and reach have changed enormously across that time. It started with seven founding members and a small office in Paris. By the 2020s it had 211 member associations, making FIFA larger by membership than the United Nations.

International football had been growing on the European continent through the 1890s and early 1900s. National associations had been founded across the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy and several other countries, and each had its own national team. Without a central body, every international fixture had to be arranged one at a time between two national associations, with no shared eligibility rules and no agreed schedule.

The British associations themselves had no need for a central international body, because they had each other and their own Home Championship. The pressure to set up FIFA came from the continental associations, who wanted to play more international matches, agree shared competition rules, player eligibility standards and international match arrangements, and arrange a tournament between European nations. The British associations were invited to take part in the founding but did not initially attend.

The founding meeting was held in Paris at the rue Saint-Honoré, on 21 May 1904. The seven founding members were France, Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and Spain, with Spain represented by Madrid Football Club rather than a national federation, since the Spanish RFEF did not yet exist. Germany sent a telegram joining FIFA on the same day, becoming the eighth founder member without a representative present in person.

The meeting's main task was to agree FIFA's basic statutes. The new body would recognise only one national association per country, would require its members to play under the Laws of the Game as recognised by FIFA, and would aim to organise an international tournament between member nations. Robert Guérin of France was elected as FIFA's first president. The English FA was invited to a follow-up meeting in 1905 and, after some hesitation, joined the new organisation.

The four British associations joined FIFA in 1905 and 1906, with the FA's Daniel Burley Woolfall becoming FIFA's second president from 1906 to 1918. Britain's involvement in FIFA's early years was significant, and Woolfall oversaw the spread of FIFA membership beyond Europe in the years before the First World War.

The British associations left FIFA in 1920 over a dispute about whether to play against the Central Powers nations after the war, rejoined in 1924, left again in 1928 over a separate dispute about amateurism and payment of expenses, and stayed out until 1946. As a result, the British associations were not part of the first three World Cups in 1930, 1934 and 1938. They returned to FIFA after the Second World War and have remained members since.

Jules Rimet, of France, became FIFA president in 1921 and held the position until 1954. His tenure was the longest of any FIFA president, and the period in which FIFA went from a small European organisation to a global body. The most lasting decision of his presidency was the agreement in 1928 to organise FIFA's own world championship — a tournament open to all member nations, not just to the amateur sides eligible for the Olympic Games. The first World Cup was held in 1930.

Rimet's presidency also saw FIFA expand beyond Europe and South America. By the time he stepped down in 1954, the new continental confederations were beginning to form, and FIFA was on its way to becoming the governing body of a worldwide sport. The original World Cup trophy was renamed the Jules Rimet Trophy in 1946, in honour of his role in creating the tournament.

The men's World Cup and the women's World Cup are FIFA's flagship competitions, both held every four years. FIFA also runs the FIFA Club World Cup, the FIFA U-20 and U-17 World Cups, beach soccer and futsal World Cups, and the Olympic football tournaments in cooperation with the International Olympic Committee. The men's and women's World Cups have been FIFA's main revenue sources, with money then distributed back into the game through member associations, confederations and development programmes.

The Laws of the Game, however, are not FIFA's to change alone. FIFA holds four of the eight votes on the International Football Association Board, with the four British associations holding the other four. Any change to the Laws requires a three-quarters majority, which means FIFA and the British associations have to agree on any change. The rest of FIFA's authority — over competitions, eligibility, and the wider international game — is more straightforward.