Founded in 1904, Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) is the game’s world governing body. It is an international non-governmental organization with a membership of 211 national associations, headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland. Its official aims are to organize international competitions, develop football and expand FIFA’s presence globally “to better serve our fans and all our stakeholders” according to the current president, Gianni Infantino. Assuring that the World Cup men’s and women’s tournaments occur regularly is central to FIFA’s raison d'être, with the men’s tournament generating more than 90 percent of FIFA’s overall revenue.

FIFA is much more than a sporting organization. It is also a network of power, finance, and influence on a global scale. By organizing the World Cup and other competitions at senior and junior level, it has paradoxically fostered the simultaneous growth of internationalism and nationalism. In the 1950 and 1960s, it welcomed newly independent nations from Africa and Asia that did much to genuinely globalize soccer. Over the next three decades, FIFA sanctions against apartheid South Africa demonstrated a commitment to inclusion and anti-racism. In the 1980s and 1990s, the world body transformed itself into a money-driven business operated in partnership with corporate sponsors and media companies. In the 21st century, FIFA’s rhetoric of peace and unity through football has been undermined as a result of poor governance and major corruption scandals. FIFA today mobilizes vast sums of money, labor, physical infrastructure and media attention—accumulating considerable wealth for itself by extracting vast sums from fans, World Cup host countries and cities, sponsors and media. Due to the power and influence that FIFA has over the global game, we have included sources published by FIFA. However, we encourage you to engage with these sources critically and to keep in mind who benefits most from the policies and positions that FIFA adopts.