The Fédération Internationale de Football Association, more commonly known by its acronym FIFA, is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded in 1904 to oversee international competition among the national associations of Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. Headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland, its membership now comprises 211 national associations. These national associations must also be members of one of the six regional confederations: CAF (Africa), AFC, UEFA (Europe), CONCACAF, OFC (Oceania), and CONMEBOL.
Joseph Sepp Blatter is a Swiss former football administrator who served as the eighth President of FIFA from 1998 to 2015. He has been banned from participating in FIFA activities since 2015 as a result of the FIFA corruption case made public that year, and will remain banned until 2027.
Jean-Marie Faustin Godefroid "João" de Havelange was a Brazilian lawyer, businessman, and athlete who served as the seventh president of FIFA from 1974 to 1998. His tenure as president is the second longest in FIFA's history, behind that of Jules Rimet. He received the title of Honorary President when leaving office, but resigned in April 2013. He was preceded by Stanley Rous and was succeeded by Sepp Blatter. João Havelange served as a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) from 1963 to 2011. He was the longest-serving active member upon his resignation. In July 2012, a Swiss prosecutor's report revealed that, during his tenure on FIFA's Executive Committee, he and his son-in-law Ricardo Teixeira took more than 41 million Swiss francs (£21m) in bribes in connection with the award of World Cup marketing rights.
Prince Ali bin Al Hussein is the third son of King Hussein of Jordan, and the second child of the king by his third wife, Queen Alia. He is also the half brother of King Abdullah II. He is a member of the Hashemite family, which has ruled Jordan since 1921 and claims to be a descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
The bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups was the process by which the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) selected locations for the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups. The process began officially in March 2009; eleven bids from thirteen countries were received, including one which was withdrawn and one that was rejected before FIFA's executive committee voted in November 2010. Two of the remaining nine bids applied only to the 2022 World Cup, while the rest were initially applications for both. Over the course of the bidding, all non-European bids for the 2018 event were withdrawn, resulting in the exclusion of all European bids from consideration for the 2022 edition. By the time of the decision, bids for the 2018 World Cup included England, Russia, a joint bid from Belgium and Netherlands, and a joint bid from Portugal and Spain. Bids for the 2022 World Cup came from Australia, Japan, Qatar, South Korea, and the United States. Indonesia's bid was disqualified due to lack of governmental support, and Mexico withdrew its bid for financial reasons.
David Alan Gill is a British football executive, formerly chief executive of Manchester United and a vice-chairman of The Football Association. He served as vice-chairman of the G-14 management committee until the G-14 was disbanded. He sits on the UEFA Executive Committee as of 2013. Gill was elected as a FIFA Vice-President sitting on the FIFA Council in 2015; rejecting this position in protest at Sepp Blatter until Blatter announced his resignation as FIFA President, following the 2015 FIFA corruption case.
Issa Hayatou was a Cameroonian sports executive, athlete, and football administrator best known for serving as the president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) between 1988 and 2017. He served as the acting FIFA president until 26 February 2016 as the previous president Sepp Blatter was banned from all football-related activities in 2015 as a part of the that year's FIFA corruption investigation. In 2002, he ran for president of FIFA but was defeated by Blatter. He was also a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
The 61st FIFA Congress was held between 31 May and 1 June 2011 at the Hallenstadion in Zürich, Switzerland. FIFA is the governing body of world association football, and the congress is the annual meeting of FIFA's supreme legislative body. This is the eighth congress to be held in Zürich, and the first since 2007. After an opening ceremony and a reminder of FIFA events and activities in 2010, the second day witnessed decisions taken, and the unveiling of the 2010 financial results. The opening ceremony was presented by Melanie Winiger, and featured singer Grace Jones, hammered dulcimer player Nicolas Senn, and juggler Alan Šulc.
ChangeFIFA was a campaign organisation, established in 2010 with the stated aim of making FIFA, the ruling body of world soccer, more "fair and accountable".
Zhang Jilong is a Chinese football administrator who is the current senior vice president of the Asian Football Confederation. He previously served as Vice President of AFC from 2002 to 2011 and as Senior Vice President from 11 January 2007 to 1 August 2011. He had been the Acting President of the Asian Football Confederation from 14 June 2011 until 1 May 2013 after the resignation of Mohammed Bin Hammam. He was also a member of the FIFA Executive Committee.
The Caribbean Football Union corruption scandal involved attempted bribery used to win the votes of national football associations from the Caribbean Football Union in the 2011 FIFA presidential election.
Isha Tejan-Cole Johansen is a Sierra Leonean entrepreneur and the former president of the Sierra Leone Football Association. Johansen is one of only a few women in the world to have headed a national football association, along with Lydia Nsekera, the former president of the Burundi football association, Izetta Sombo Wesley, the former leader of the Liberia Football Association and Sonia Bien-Aime of the Turks and Caicos Islands Football Association.
The 65th FIFA Congress was held at the Hallenstadion in Zürich, Switzerland, from 28 to 29 May 2015.
In 2015, United States federal prosecutors disclosed cases of corruption by officials and associates connected with the Fédération internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the governing body of association football, futsal and beach soccer.
The 53rd FIFA Congress was held in May 2002 in Seoul, South Korea before the 2002 FIFA World Cup. It was the annual meeting of the international governing body of association football FIFA. The congress saw the re-election of Joseph "Sepp" Blatter as the President of FIFA.
The 2016 FIFA Extraordinary Congress was held at the Hallenstadion in Zürich, Switzerland, on 26 February 2016. This special session of the FIFA Congress, called as a result of the 2015 FIFA corruption case, included the passage of a major statutory reforms proposal as well as the election of Gianni Infantino to replace Sepp Blatter as the President of FIFA.
The FIFA Ethics Committee is one of FIFA's three judicial bodies. It is organized in two chambers, the Investigatory Chamber and the Adjudicatory Chamber. Its duties are regulated by several official documents, most importantly the FIFA Code of Ethics. FIFA's other judicial bodies are the Disciplinary Committee and the Appeal Committee.
José Mari Martínez was a Filipino sports executive who served as President of the Philippine Football Federation and a Philippine international footballer.
Ariitu Reynald Temarii is a former French Polynesian footballer, sports administrator, politician, and Cabinet Minister who served in the cabinet of Gaston Flosse. From 2004 to 2010 he was president of the Oceania Football Confederation, and from 2007 to 2010 a vice-president of FIFA. He is the father of politician Nahema Temarii.
