FIFA: Taking a Closer Look at the Governing Body of the ‘Beautiful’ Global Game of Football/Soccer
The “record-breaking”, and also controversial, 2026 FIFA World Cup final was decided on 19 July at the New York New Jersey Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, when Spain defeated Argentina 1-0 during extra time, in a lacklustre game noted more for its ill-tempered and aggressive encounters and post-match shenanigans than for any memorable displays of outstanding play. The tournament had kicked off on 11 June in Mexico City, when Mexico overcame South Africa in a 2-0 victory. According to FIFA, 6, 810, 966 fans attended 104 matches across 16 venues, spread across the three co-hosting nations of the US, Canada, and Mexico. The 48 participating teams registered 208 goals between them, with an average of 2.96 goals between them. FIFA, a ‘non-profit’ organisation, has since declared $9 billion in World Cup revenues, which will be redistributed for the benefit of all 211 member states after the 48 participating teams share an allocated total of $871 million. It is no surprise that attendance records were broken on this occasion. After all, this was the first time that the larger number of 48 teams had participated in an expanded World Cup final. Among the highlights of the tournaments was the inspiring performance by Cabo Verde, who drew 0-0 against the ultimate winners Spain in their debut FIFA World Cup appearance and later progressed to the knockout stages of the tournament. The mistreatment of the Iran team, on the other hand, was among the low points of the competition.
FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association), with its headquarters in Zurich, is the “global governing body of football”, tasked with overseeing and promoting “the development of football at every level, from grassroots initiatives to elite international competitions,” including both men’s and women’s football, beach soccer, and the indoor five-a-side game of futsal. The dynamic and unpredictable ‘beautiful game’ of football is now the world’s most popular sport, played on makeshift surfaces (alleyways, streets, various open spaces), dedicated football grounds, indoor sports halls, beaches, and wherever else a ball brings together participants in impromptu and casual, as well as formal and organised, sporting interactions. It is the most democratic of games, requiring little in the way of specialised facilities and expensive equipment at grassroots level.
FIFA was established at a three-day Congress, which opened on 21 May 1904 in Paris. Eight men, representing seven national associations, including some by proxy, met at the offices of the USFSA (Union des Sociétés Francaises de Sports Athlétiques). Maurice Robert-Guérin, chair of the USFSA’s football section, oversaw the drafting of a treaty and of the original articles of the FIFA Statutes. He served as the first President of FIFA, between 1904 and 1906. The institution of a world football tournament had to wait for the advocacy of Jules Rimet, the third, and longest-serving (1921 to 1954) President, after whom the FIFA World Cup is named. Delegates at the 17th FIFA Congress in Amsterdam on 28 May 1928 voted in favour of staging the first World Cup in 1930. Uruguay, the host of the first tournament, also became its first winner. Nineteen countries have hosted 23 World Cups since, including the inaugural competition.
FIFA has been described by some of its detractors as a corrupt and opaque organisation, willing to bend the rules and unaccountable for its actions, which often lack transparency. While these are, in many instances, unproven allegations, there can be no denying that the organisation provides a telling example of bureaucratic creep. The 37-member FIFA Council, its strategic and oversight body, includes the President, eight vice-presidents and 28 other elected members. The General Secretariat, FIFA’s executive, operational, and administrative body, is headed by a Secretary General. The annual Congress is FIFA’s supreme and legislative body. The Council and General Secretariat are advised and assisted by 30 Standing Committees with overlapping functions, which reflect various facets of FIFA’s activities. Four Independent Committees, including three judicial bodies (Disciplinary, Appeal, and Ethics Committees), act “entirely independently but always in the interest of FIFA.” FIFA’s 211 member associations belong to one of six regional confederations, covering Africa, Asia, North and Central America and the Caribbean, Oceania, and South America.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino, a lawyer by a training and a seasoned football administrator, seeks to “unleash the commercial potential” of World Cup football, generating more revenues from its tournaments and events, which will then be reinvested into the sport. According to FIFA’s website: “The President and members of Council may serve for no more than three terms of office, whether consecutive or not.” Infantino will, however, stand for re-election to a fourth term as president at the March 2027 Congress in Morocco, backed by more than 200 of FIFA’s 211 member associations and hopes to introduce an even larger, and more lucrative, 64-team competition with the unanimous backing of the FIFA Council. Money talks, and elite football has become a lucrative undertaking. Infantino’s support from Africa, Asia, and Latin America is thus driven by FIFA’s welcome financial contributions towards its member associations. Any opposition to the FIFA President mostly originates in Europe, which has well-heeled footballing organisations of its own.
The growing commercialisation and politicisation of football under FIFA’s oversight is by no means universally welcome. In the context of the 2026 World Cup, concerns over its actions began with the award of an inaugural “FIFA Peace Prize” -comprising a trophy, medal, and certificate-to President Trump at the World Cup Final Draw ceremony in December 2025, in a cynical display of sycophancy to a leader who had failed to secure the Nobel Peace Prize in October 2025 and was to become a warmonger over the coming months. Travel bans, and overpriced and misallocated tickets put the tournament out of the reach of many potential spectators, while a respected Somali referee was refused entry to the US for posing a threat to America’s national security. Political neutrality appeared to have been compromised by President Trump’s intervention in the overturning of a red card for America’s leading player Folarin Balogun, which in turn led to a boycott of the final by UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin. FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee has yet to provide a satisfactory explanation for its withdrawal of Balogun’s suspension for a crucial knockout stage encounter against Belgium. Allegations of favourable treatment for Argentina, especially in VAR adjudications, have also clouded the competition, as have reports of financial malpractice by the Argentina FA.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup final has been decided in favour of Spain, while second-placed Argentina has declared a national public holiday to recognise the efforts of its losing team- on a day to be chosen by that team. The world can now move on, and look forward to the 2030 World Cup, which is to be co-hosted by Morocco, Portugal, and Spain after the opening three matches are played in the centenary hosting nations of Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay. With the hindsight of lessons learnt in 2026, if any, things can hopefully only get better hereafter.
Ashis Banerjee