Governing Bodies

[edit] Governing bodies
See also: Association football around the world
The recognised international governing body of football (and associated games, such as futsal and beach soccer) is the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). The FIFA headquarters are located in Zürich.
Six regional confederations are associated with FIFA; these are:
Asia: Asian Football Confederation (AFC)
Africa: Confederation of African Football (CAF)
Central/North America & Caribbean: Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF; also known as The Football Confederation)
Europe: Union of European Football Associations (UEFA)
Oceania: Oceania Football Confederation (OFC)
South America: Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol (South American Football Confederation; CONMEBOL)
National associations oversee football within individual countries. These are affiliated both with FIFA and with their respective continental confederations.

[edit] Major international competitions
The major international competition in football is the World Cup, organised by FIFA. This competition takes place over a four-year period. More than 190 national teams compete in qualifying tournaments within the scope of continental confederations for a place in the finals. The finals tournament, which is held every four years, involves 32 national teams competing over a four-week period.[41] The 2006 FIFA World Cup took place in Germany; in 2010 it will be held in South Africa.[42]
There has been a football tournament at every Summer Olympic Games since 1900, except at the 1932 games in Los Angeles. Before the inception of the World Cup, the Olympics (especially during the 1920s) had the same status as the World Cup. Originally, the event was for amateurs only,[19] however, since the 1984 Summer Olympics professional players have been permitted, albeit with certain restrictions which prevent countries from fielding their strongest sides. Currently, the Olympic men's tournament is played at Under-23 level. In the past the Olympics have allowed a restricted number of over-age players per team;[43] but that practice will cease in the 2008 Olympics. The Olympic competition is not generally considered to carry the same international significance and prestige as the World Cup. A women's tournament was added in 1996; in contrast to the men's event, full international sides without age restrictions play the women’s Olympic tournament. It thus carries international prestige considered comparable to that of the FIFA Women's World Cup.
After the World Cup, the most important football competitions are the continental championships, which are organised by each continental confederation and contested between national teams. These are the European Championship (UEFA), the Copa América (CONMEBOL), African Cup of Nations (CAF), the Asian Cup (AFC), the CONCACAF Gold Cup (CONCACAF) and the OFC Nations Cup (OFC). The most prestigious competitions in club football are the respective continental championships, which are generally contested between national champions, for example the UEFA Champions League in Europe and the Copa Libertadores de América in South America. The winners of each continental competition contest the FIFA Club World Cup.[44]

[edit] Domestic competitions
Main article: Association football around the world
The governing bodies in each country operate league systems, normally comprising several divisions, in which the teams gain points throughout the season depending on results. Teams are placed into tables, placing them in order according to points accrued. Most commonly, each team plays every other team in its league at home and away in each season, in a round-robin tournament. At the end of a season, the top team are declared the champions. The top few teams may be promoted to a higher division, and one or more of the teams finishing at the bottom are relegated to a lower division. The teams finishing at the top of a country's league may be eligible also to play in international club competitions in the following season. The main exceptions to this system occur in some Latin American leagues, which divide football championships into two sections named Apertura and Clausura, awarding a champion for each.
The majority of countries supplement the league system with one or more cup competitions. These are organised on a knock-out basis, the winner of each match proceeding to the next round; the loser takes no further part in the competition.
Some countries' top divisions feature highly-paid star players; in smaller countries and lower divisions, players may be part-timers with a second job, or amateurs. The five top European leagues—the Premier League (England), the Bundesliga (Germany), La Liga (Spain), Ligue 1 (France) and Serie A (Italy)—attract most of the world's best players.

[edit] Names of the game
See also: Names for association football and Football (word)
The rules of football were codified in England by the Football Association in 1863, and the name association football was coined to distinguish the game from the other forms of football played at the time, specifically rugby football. The term soccer originated in England, first appearing in the 1880s as a slang abbreviation of association football, often credited to former England captain, Charles Wreford-Brown.[45]
Today the sport is generally known simply as football in countries where it is the most popular football code. In countries where other codes are more popular, the sport is more commonly referred to as soccer, and indeed is referred to as such in the official names of the governing bodies in the United States and Canada. FIFA, the sport's world governing body, defines the sport they govern as association football in their statutes,[46] but the term most commonly used by FIFA and the International Olympic Committee is football.

[edit] See also

Association football Portal
Association football culture
List of association football clubs
List of men's national association football teams
List of top association football goal scorers
List of top association football goal scorers by country
Lists of association football players
Paralympic association football
[show] v • d • e Association football
Overviews: Football around the world Women's football around the world
Timelines: Football English football
History: Prehistory of football History of football
1840s 1850s 1860s 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

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