Essay Example: International Federation of Association Football

Based in Zurich, the International Federation of Association Football was founded in 1904 with the goal of governing and continual improvement of football. FIFA is a 211 member association, and its mission is to promote football, protect its integrity and bring it to all. The association is led by Gianni Infantino who is a Swiss national. FIFA also holds an annual congress to address any issue concerning the game of football. One of the most notable events organized by FIFA is the FIFA world cup which is held after every four years. More will be expounded later on the FIFA world cup. This paper will have an insight on the association which will enable a good understanding of the football game and the association.

Discussion

Many people play sports for different reasons. Some play sports as a source of income, others do it for fun, others because they are forced to among other reasons. However, one common goal is that sports improve the overall body fitness if done in the right manner. The right manner means not doing too much or too risky sports based on fitness level. Sports are said to bring many people together, and they are the most unifying tool that brings peace in the world. In the world, there many types of sports and so are their governing bodies. As expected, some sports attract more fans than others. Football is famous for all sports with an estimated more than 3.5billion fans all over the world. Due to this, the association that governs football is also equally famous, and its discussion is of much importance regarding the understanding of football as a sport.

At its founding in 1904, FIFA had only seven members who are Switzerland, Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, Sweden, and France. It held its first football tournament in the 1908 Olympics. By 1914, several other nations from other continents had gained its membership. Today, FIFA has more member nations than the United Nations. The members are subdivided into six confederations from six continents. These confederations host continental tournaments as well as organizing their member associations (Larkin 2015). The confederations get financial support from FIFA to organize tournaments and other programs

As seen earlier, FIFA is led by Gianni Infantino, and he has been the president since 2016. The Congress which is the organizations supreme body elects a president every four years. A president may only serve for not more than three terms (FIFA n.d.). During an election, each member nation has one vote in the Congress regardless of the nations size. The Congress meets annually, and their responsibility is to make decisions regarding several issues to enhance FIFA achieve its objectives. Example of some decisions that the Congress can take include: they decide if a nation can be admitted as a member; can suspend and expel members; they may decide to move the headquarters, can amend the statutes, elects the president, and approves or disapproves other organizational functions (Larkin 2015).

The strategic and oversight body of FIFA is known as the FIFA council. The council which has thirty-eight members serves for a term of four years and cannot serve for more than three terms. Each confederation must have a female representative on the council. The council is responsible for setting the organizations vision as well as supervising other functions (FIFA n.d.). The council include, secretary general, 28members, 8 vice presidents and the president.

Like other organizations, FIFA needs money to run its programs smoothly. This is got from selling television rights, hospitality rights, brand name and licensing. The most notable income earner is the world cup which is also the biggest spender. Other events and investments also bring significant income all of which is used to drive its programs. The excess money after expenses is reserved for future use (Sergeant 2015). In the past few years, some members have been involved in FIFA corruption scandals, and some of them are under investigations.

The corruption allegations arose after Qatar was awarded the rights to host 2022 World Cup. It was alleged that Qatar might have influenced the bidding process through bribing (Platt 2017). Later, investigations were done, and FIFA failed to release the full investigation report, raising more questions. The corruption scandals in FIFA have also claimed careers of top officials such as Sepp Blatter, a former president, and Michael Platini a former UEFA president (BBC 2015). They were later found guilty of making disloyal payment in 2011. Following investigations conducted by the FBI, many other officials have also been involved in the scandal.

FIFA holds many football tournaments all over the world for both men and women. The most notable mens tournaments are the Mens World Cup and the Confederations Cup. Other tournaments include Under-Twenty Word Cup, Under-Seventeen World Cup, and Olympic Football Tournament. Notable womens tournaments include Womens world cup, Olympic Football Tournament, Under Twenty Womens World Cup, and Under Seventeen womens World Cup. Out of all these tournaments, the most watched all over the world is the mens World Cup which is also the most watched of all other sports. The Mens World Cup is also the organizations primary source of income.

FIFA World cup was inaugurated in 1930, and it is played after every four years where the contesters are the senior mens team of all the member associations. The actual competition comprises of thirty-two teams who undergo a qualification phase before the World Cup year. The number of matches played during the actual tournament is sixty-four. The host nation qualifies a direct entry into the tournament and does not need to go through the qualification phase. In the qualification phase, more than 800 matches are played to determine the thirty-one qualifying teams. Due to this and other factors, organizing the World Cup tournament is not an easy task and FIFA has to work around the clock to make it a success.

Over the years, the football game fans have grown significantly. Technology advancement has played a crucial role regarding the growth because more people can access football matches anywhere. This is due to the availability of technology devices such as televisions and internet gadgets. The host country for the most recent tournament was Brazil, and it is said to have attracted more than 3.2 billion Viewers. The final which was between Argentina and Germany was watched by more than 1 billion viewers from their televisions. Through the internet, more than 270 million people also watched the final. These figures broke all-tournament fan records despite the fact that it was broadcasted late night and early morning to more than half of the worlds population (FIFA 2015). The host countries for 2018 and 2022 are Russia and Qatar respectively where the audience is expected to rise further.

The other notable FIFA tournament is the mens Confederation Cup which founded in 1992 and is also held every four years; it comprises of eight teams which are: six winners of each continental tournament, the Previous World Cup winner and the host nation. Usually, it is held a year before the world cup in the country that will host the next world cup (Haigh 2017). This has been so since 2005. Unlike World Cup, the Confederation Cup does not attract much audience, and it is used to test the readiness of the host country for the forthcoming World Cup. The mens Olympic football tournament is played during Olympics Games year which are held every four years. The tournament is held in the Olympics game host country and due to the other games; it does not attract significant fans compared to the World Cup.

Conclusion

With its headquarters in Switzerland, FIFA is the body that governs the game of football, and currently, 211 nations are members of its congress. It is led by a president whom together with other 37 members makes the FIFA council. The president and the council members are elected by the FIFA congress every four years. FIFA is responsible for organizing and funding many football tournaments from the member states. It also organizes the mens World Cup which attracts more fans than any other sport in the world. In the recent past, FIFA has had some corruption scandals which led to the suspension of senior officials. Despite these scandals, the football has attracted more fans, and the growth trend is expected to continue. However, the member nations should take great care when selecting their officials to prevent future scandals. This will ensure that game will continue entertaining its fans as well as uniting the world.

References

BBC (2015). Fifa corruption crisis: Key questions answered. [Online] BBC News. Available at: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-32897066 [Accessed 22 Dec. 2017].

FIFA (2017). The FIFA Confederations Cup in numbers. [Online] FIFA.com. Available at: http://www.fifa.com/confederationscup/news/y=2017/m=6/news=the-fifa-confederations-cup-in-numbers-2895262.html [Accessed 22 Dec. 2017].

FIFA (2015). 2014 FIFA World Cup reached 3.2 billion viewers, one billion watched final. [Online] FIFA.com. Available at: http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/news/y=2015/m=12/news=2014-fifa-world-cuptm-reached-3-2-billion-viewers-one-billion-watched--2745519.html [Accessed 22 Dec. 2017].

FIFA (n.d.). FIFA Associations and Confederations - FIFA.com. [Online] FIFA.com. Available at: http://www.fifa.com/associations/index.html [Accessed 22 Dec. 2017].

FIFA (n.d.). FIFA Council - FIFA.com. [Online] FIFA.com. Available at: http://www.fifa.com/about-fifa/fifa-council/index.html [Accessed 22 Dec. 2017].

FIFA (n.d.). History of FIFA - Foundation - FIFA.com. [Online] FIFA.com. Available at: http://www.fifa.com/about-fifa/who-we-are/history/index.html [Accessed 22 Dec. 2017].

Haigh, P. (2017). What is the Confederations Cup? How do teams qualify? | Metro News. [Online] Metro.co.uk. Available at: http://metro.co.uk/2017/06/18/what-is-the-confederations-cup-how-do-teams-qualify-6717746/ [Accessed 22 Dec. 2017].

Larkin, B. (2015). The Structure and Policies of FIFA. [Online] Soccer Politics / the Politics of Football. Available at: https://sites.duke.edu/wcwp/tournament-guides/world-cup-2014/fifa-institutional-politics/the-structure-and-policies-of-fifa/ [Accessed 22 Dec. 2017].

Platt, O. (2017). World Cup 2022: Stadiums, tickets & controversy around the Qatar tournament | Goal.com. [Online] Goal.com. Available at: http://www.goal.com/en/news/world-cup-2022-stadiums-ticket-details-controversy-around/t37kdh37q7ut1jcard2roka2e [Accessed 22 Dec. 2017].

Sargeant, P. (2015). How FIFA makes and spends its money. [Online] BBC News. Available at: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-32923882 [Accessed 22 Dec. 2017].