FIFA — the Fédération Internationale de Football Association — is the governing body of world football and the organisation behind the FIFA World Cup, which is currently running as FIFA World Cup 2026 in the USA, Canada, and Mexico. With 211 member associations and a global audience of billions, FIFA is simultaneously the most powerful sports organisation on earth and one of the most controversial. Here’s who owns FIFA, who runs it, and how the organisation actually works.
| Full Name | Fédération Internationale de Football Association |
| Founded | 21 May 1904, Paris, France |
| Headquarters | Zurich, Switzerland |
| President | Gianni Infantino (since 2016) |
| Member Associations | 211 national football associations |
| Type | Non-profit association (Swiss law) |
| FIFA World Cup 2026 | USA, Canada, Mexico — first 48-team World Cup |
| Revenue | ~$4–7 billion per 4-year World Cup cycle |
Who Owns FIFA?
Strictly speaking, nobody “owns” FIFA. FIFA is not a company — it is a non-profit association registered under Swiss law (specifically, Article 60 of the Swiss Civil Code). Non-profit associations in Switzerland are not owned by shareholders or governments — they are membership organisations controlled by their member bodies. FIFA’s “owners” in this conceptual sense are its 211 member national football associations (such as the Football Association of India, the US Soccer Federation, the Football Association in England, etc.). Each member association has a vote in FIFA’s Congress — the supreme governing body — regardless of how big or how rich their country is. Fiji has the same number of votes as Brazil. The FIFA Council (led by the President) manages operations between congresses. Revenues generated by FIFA — primarily from selling broadcast rights and sponsorships for the FIFA World Cup — are redistributed to member associations and used to fund football development globally. FIFA itself retains reserves but does not have shareholders who receive profits. For FIFA’s official governance, see fifa.com.
| Governing Body | Role | Members |
|---|---|---|
| FIFA Congress | Supreme governing body; votes on major decisions | 211 national associations (one vote each) |
| FIFA Council | Manages operations between Congress sessions | 37 members including the President |
| FIFA President | Chief executive and public face | Gianni Infantino (2016–present) |
| FIFA Secretariat | Day-to-day operations | Based in Zurich; led by Secretary General |
Who is the President of FIFA?
Gianni Infantino is the President of FIFA, elected in February 2016 following the resignation of Sepp Blatter amid the 2015 corruption scandal. Infantino, a Swiss-Italian lawyer, previously served as Secretary General of UEFA (European football’s governing body). He was re-elected in 2019 and again in 2023, making him one of the most powerful figures in world sport. Infantino has relocated FIFA’s operation to Saudi Arabia in recent years (he personally lives in Riyadh), which has drawn significant criticism given Saudi Arabia’s human rights record. FIFA World Cup 2026 under his leadership is the first 48-team edition — expanded from 32 teams — which Infantino championed as a way to grow the game globally and increase FIFA’s commercial revenues.
Is FIFA Publicly Listed or Government-Owned?
No to both. FIFA is neither publicly listed nor government-owned. As a Swiss non-profit association, it has no shares to list and no government controls it. This independence from both capital markets and government control is part of what gives FIFA (and sports governing bodies generally) their autonomy — and also what historically made accountability difficult. The 2015 FIFA corruption scandal exposed how that lack of external oversight could enable decades of bribery. Post-scandal reforms have introduced more financial transparency, an independent Ethics Committee, and limits on executive pay.
FIFA World Cup 2026 — Key Facts
The FIFA World Cup 2026 is the 23rd edition of the FIFA World Cup and is being co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico — making it the first World Cup hosted across three countries. Key facts: 48 teams competing (expanded from 32), 104 matches total (up from 64), spread across 16 cities and 11 stadiums in the USA plus venues in Toronto and Guadalajara/Mexico City. The final will be played at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey/New York, the largest stadium in the NFL. Major FIFA Worldwide Partners for 2026 include Adidas, Coca-Cola, Hyundai/Kia, Qatar Airways, Saudi Aramco, Visa, and others.
Key Milestones
| Year | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 1904 | FIFA founded in Paris with 7 founding nations |
| 1930 | First FIFA World Cup held in Uruguay |
| 1974 | João Havelange becomes president; commercialisation era begins |
| 1998 | World Cup expanded to 32 teams |
| 2015 | Major corruption scandal; Sepp Blatter and others indicted |
| 2016 | Gianni Infantino elected FIFA President |
| 2017 | FIFA announces 2026 World Cup expansion to 48 teams |
| 2026 | FIFA World Cup 2026 in USA, Canada, Mexico — first 48-team edition |
My Take on FIFA’s Structure
FIFA’s non-profit structure has always been its greatest paradox. Here is an organisation that generates billions of dollars in revenue per World Cup cycle — primarily from selling broadcast rights to the world’s most-watched sporting event — but technically is a “non-profit” association. The money doesn’t go to shareholders, but it did, historically, flow to a small group of FIFA executives and national football federation officials through bribes, kickbacks, and inflated expenses. The 2015 scandal was the inevitable consequence of too much money, too little oversight, and too much individual power at the top. Infantino’s FIFA has been more commercially aggressive than Blatter’s but arguably not much more transparent. The 48-team World Cup expansion is a commercial calculation more than a sporting one — more matches, more broadcast revenue, more sponsorship activation. Whether it improves the quality of football is debatable. What’s not debatable is that the FIFA World Cup remains the single most valuable sporting rights package in the world, and every major global corporation wants a piece of it.