What is Gianni Infantino's vision for FIFA?
Gianni Infantino’s long-term vision for FIFA is to make football truly global by levelling-up playing and organisational standards across every continent and expanding participation in the world’s most prestigious football competitions: the FIFA World Cup and the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
When was Infantino elected?
Since his first election in February 2016, Gianni Infantino’s presidency has focused on bringing wide-ranging reforms to FIFA, expanding global participation in FIFA’s flagship competitions and boosting FIFA’s investment in football development through the Forward Programme.
The Journey to the Top
Infantino’s love for sport and for football/soccer in particular can be traced back to his collegiate days. Despite studying law at the University of Fribourg, Infantino opted to work at the International Center for Sports Studies (CIES), which is based at the University of Neuchâtel, as its Secretary General.
The Scandal That Paved the Way
Infantino’s predecessor, Joseph Blatter (more commonly known as Sepp Blatter), had held the office for 17 years. The disgraced ex-president’s tenure was riddled with claims of financial mismanagement, vote-rigging, bribery, and corruption, all which Blatter consistently denied.
An Unlikely Candidate
Unknown to many, Infantino wasn’t among the initial list of candidates who were in the running to succeed the ousted Blatter.
Accomplishments and Failures
Infantino ran with the promise of implementing reforms that would transform FIFA into a more “credible, trustworthy, modern, professional and accountable organization”. True to his words, Infantino has instituted a number of policies that his fans and critics alike agree will propel the sport of football/soccer forward and upwards.
Accomplishments
Among them are what have come to be known as the “sweeping governance reforms” the bigwig introduced in June 2015. The shot-caller also kicked off the FIFA Forward Programme – a long-term plan aimed at diversifying football “development investment around the world”.
Failures
Infantino has faced his fair share of challenges. He was interviewed by the FIFA Ethics Committee in July after being suspected of illegitimately spending funds but was thereafter exonerated.
Who was the first FIFA president?
Also, that same day, the German Football Association (DFB) declared its intention of affiliating through a telegram. The first president of FIFA was Robert Guérin. Guérin was replaced in 1906 by Daniel Burley Woolfall from England, by then a member of the association.
Who was the president of FIFA in 2010?
After being re-elected as president of FIFA, Sepp Blatter responded to the allegations by promising to reform FIFA in wake of the bribery scandal, with Danny Jordaan, CEO of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, saying there is great expectation for reform. Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger is being tipped for a role on the newly proposed 'Solutions Committee', and former Netherlands national football team player Johan Cruyff was also being linked with a role.
What was the secret world of FIFA?
In May 2006, British investigative reporter Andrew Jennings ' book Foul! The Secret World of FIFA: Bribes, Vote-Rigging and Ticket Scandals ( Harper Collins) caused controversy within the football world by detailing an alleged international cash-for-contracts scandal following the collapse of FIFA's marketing partner International Sport and Leisure (ISL), and revealed how some football officials have been urged to secretly repay the sweeteners they received. The book also alleged that vote-rigging had occurred in the fight for Sepp Blatter 's continued control of FIFA as the organization's president. Shortly after the release of Foul! a BBC Panorama exposé by Jennings and BBC producer Roger Corke, screened on 11 June 2006, reported that Blatter was being investigated by Swiss police over his role in a secret deal to repay more than £1m worth of bribes pocketed by football officials. Lord Triesman, the former chairman of the English Football Association, described FIFA as an organization that "behaves like a mafia family", highlighting the organization's "decades-long traditions of bribes, bungs and corruption ".
How many confederations are there in FIFA?
Besides its worldwide institutions, there are six confederations recognized by FIFA which oversee the game in the different continents and regions of the world. National associations, and not the continental confederations, are members of FIFA. The continental confederations are provided for in FIFA's statutes, and membership of a confederation is a prerequisite to FIFA membership.
What is FIFA's code of ethics?
In 2018, FIFA revised its code of ethics to remove corruption as one of the enumerated bases of ethical violations. It retained bribery, misappropriation of funds and manipulation of competitions as offences, but added a statute of limitation clause that those offences could not be pursued after a ten-year period.
What is the role of FIFA?
FIFA is responsible for the organization and promotion of association football's major international tournaments , notably the World Cup which commenced in 1930 and the Women's World Cup which commenced in 1991.
What is the FIFA?
FIFA ( / ˈfiːfə / French: Fédération Internationale de Football Association, English: International Federation of Association Football) is a non-profit organization that describes itself as an international governing body of association football, Futsal, and beach football. It is the highest governing body of association football.
Who was the British president of FIFA?
Another British president of FIFA, Rous was a prominent referee and director. After serving in the First World War, he taught athletics at a school for boys. He also played as a goalie.
How long was the FIFA president?
Rimet served first as an interim president, and then became the third president of FIFA. His term lasted 33 consecutive years, which is the longest of any president in FIFA’s history . Rimet was born in France and worked as a lawyer, referee, and athletic director. He was also president of the French Football Association and the Red Star Football Club.
Where is FIFA located?
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association, or FIFA, was created in May of 1904. The FIFA headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland. The association has various responsibilities, from creating and modifying the rules that govern the sport, to organizing different championships in a variety of categories. It also brings together six different soccer confederations.
The Journey to The Top
The Scandal That Paved The Way
- Infantino’s predecessor, Joseph Blatter (more commonly known as Sepp Blatter), had held the office for 17 years. The disgraced ex-president’s tenure was riddled with claims of financial mismanagement, vote-rigging, bribery, and corruption, all which Blatter consistently denied. Blatter had also tried to distance his near two decades-long tenure and the officials who served under him from corruption claims on more than one occasion despite mount…
An Unlikely Candidate
- Unknown to many, Infantino wasn’t among the initial list of candidates who were in the running to succeed the ousted Blatter. Ex-UEFA president Michel Platini was the frontrunner for the position until subsequent investigations into FIFA officials revealed that the former boss had been paid “disloyal payments” totaling to £1.35m by Blatter in 2011 for “work that he had done at FIFA”. Until the findings were made public, UEFA has suc…
Accomplishments and Failures
- Infantino ran with the promise of implementing reforms that would transform FIFA into a more “credible, trustworthy, modern, professional and accountable organization”. True to his words, Infantino has instituted a number of policies that his fansand critics alike agree will propel the sport of football/soccer forward and upwards.
Accomplishments
- Among them are what have come to be known as the “sweeping governance reforms” the bigwig introduced in June 2015. The shot-caller also kicked off the FIFA Forward Programme – a long-term plan aimed at diversifying football “development investment around the world”. Infantino similarly formed a Women’s Football Division and a first-ever Women’s football strategy in May 2018. Arguably his most celebrated accomplishment is the founding …
Failures
- Infantino has faced his fair share of challenges. He was interviewed by the FIFA Ethics Committee in July after being suspected of illegitimately spending funds but was thereafter exonerated. The FIFA boss was also one of the officials named in the infamous Panama Papers scandal relating to his time at UEFA but appears to have successfully distanced himself from the allegations. Some of Infantino’s critics have argued that one of the bigg…
Overview
FIFA is a non-profit organization that describes itself as an international governing body of association football, futsal and beach soccer. It is the highest governing body of association football.
FIFA was founded in 1904 to oversee international competition among the national associations of Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. Headqua…
History
The need for a single body to oversee association football became apparent at the beginning of the 20th century with the increasing popularity of international fixtures. The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) was founded in the rear of the headquarters of the Union des Sociétés Françaises de Sports Athlétiques (USFSA) at the Rue Saint Honoré 229 in Paris on 21 May 1904. The French name and acronym are used even outside French-speaking countries. The founding members were the national associations of Belgium, Denmark,
Identity
The FIFA flag has a blue background, with the organization's logo in the middle. The current FIFA flag was first flown during the 2018 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony in Moscow, Russia, and has been used ever since.
Akin to the UEFA Champions League, FIFA has adopted an anthem composed by the German composer Franz Lambert since the 1994 FIFA World Cup. It has been re-arranged and produced by Rob May and Simon Hill. The FIFA Anthem is played at the beginning of official FIFA sanctioned matches and tournaments such as international fri…
Structure
Besides its worldwide institutions, there are six confederations recognized by FIFA which oversee the game in the different continents and regions of the world. National associations, and not the continental confederations, are members of FIFA. The continental confederations are provided for in FIFA's statutes, and membership of a confederation is a prerequisite to FIFA membership.
Governance
The laws that govern football, known officially as the Laws of the Game, are not solely the responsibility of FIFA; they are maintained by a body called the International Football Association Board (IFAB). FIFA has members on its board (four representatives); the other four are provided by the football associations of the United Kingdom: England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, who jointly established IFAB in 1882 and are recognized for the creation and history of the game. Changes to the Laws of the Game must be agreed upon by at least six of the ei…
Recognition and awards
FIFA holds an annual awards ceremony, The Best FIFA Football Awards since 2016, which recognizes both individual and team achievements in international association football. Individually, the top men's player is awarded The Best FIFA Men's Player and the top women's player is The Best FIFA Women's Player. Other main awards are The Best FIFA Football Coach and FIFA FIFPro World11.
In 2000, FIFA presented two awards, FIFA Club of the Century and FIFA Player of the Century, to decide the greate…
Sponsors
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FIFA+
In April 2022 FIFA launched FIFA+, an OTT service providing up to 40,000 live matches per year, including 11,000 women's matches. It was also confirmed that FIFA would make available archival content, including every FIFA World Cup and FIFA Women's World Cup match recorded on camera, together with original documentary content. Eleven Sports was later reported to be responsible for populating the FIFA+ platform with live matches.