How FIFA Became the King of Football

FIFA is a household name around the world, known by football fans and non-fans alike. It’s a billion-dollar organization with more global members than the UN. You’d be hard-pressed to have never heard of it or its flagship event that rivals the Olympics in popularity, the World Cup.

How did this football organization rise to global fame and its current stronghold on the sport? This is the story — complete with the drama of questionable officials and shady dealings.

Founding FIFA

FIFA, which stands for the Federation Internationale de Football Association, was founded in 1904. It was created by the national associations of Belgium, Denmark, France, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland as a way to organize and manage international games between the countries.

The organization grew rapidly, with England joining in 1906, followed by Argentina, Chile, South Africa, and the United States in the early 1910s. By the 1960s, there were more than 100 members. Today, there are 211 members.

The World Cup

When the federation’s growth first began to accelerate in the early 1900s, Jules Rimet, the FIFA president between 1921 and 1954, proposed the creation of an international tournament: the World Cup. The tournament would offer more flexibility regarding who could compete than the Olympics did.

The first World Cup tournament took place in 1930 and was hosted by Uruguay. Uruguay, with the home-field advantage, was the first team to win the cup. Since then, the World Cup has been hosted every four years, excluding the tournaments cancelled in 1942 and 1946 because of World War II.

This has led to FIFA football events that are more popular than the Olympics and tournaments beyond the men’s World Cup. As the World Cup grew in popularity, FIFA opened its doors to women footballers with the Women’s World Cup and young athletes with the men’s and women’s Under 20 World Cup and Under 17 World Cup.

The Controversies & Corruption

If you’re wondering when the questionable officials and dealings come into the story, you’ll find the details here.

The first point of contention was the decision to have Italy host the World Cup while under the rule of Mussolini in 1934. This decision faced criticism for condoning the fascist dictatorship. While the decision to hold the tournament in Italy at a turbulent time was debatable, it didn’t put FIFA in as much hot water as the organization would face later.

As far as the records go, FIFA’s controversial behaviours reached a tipping point in the early 2010s when it was revealed that FIFA official Chuck Blazer, General Secretary of the Confederation of North, Central America, and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF), accepted bribes for the World Cup host bids of 1998 and 2010. As a result, FIFA barred him from being involved in football in any capacity.

But that wasn’t the end of Blazer’s role in bringing to light corruptive practices on the part of the football giant. Blazer became an informant on the questionable ongoings of FIFA officials. This brought to light that FIFA officials had been involved in various criminal behaviours, including accepting bribes, since the early 1990s. As a result, 14 FIFA executives and officials were arrested and 16 more charged for their criminal behaviour.

The play-by-play as this unfolded was tough for football fans; unfortunately, it was not the end of controversies associated with the FIFA organization. The decision for Russia to host the 2018 World Cup was met with speculations about bribery and backlash from many because of the country’s stance on LGBTQ+ rights.

As Qatar prepared to host the World Cup in 2022, concerns around worker safety and human rights took centre stage. These concerns led to the criticism of FIFA for putting the financial burden of hosting the World Cup on host countries when it has such a high net worth. And, just as there was speculation of bribery behind selecting Russia as a host, there was also speculation this was the case for choosing Qatar.

In response to the corruption scandal, FIFA has undergone reforms to its operations in hopes of winning trust and confidence in the corporation and its officials.

Maintaining Its Wealth & Status as Football’s King

Through all these scandals and under-the-table dealings that have come to light, FIFA has managed to maintain an incredible number of spectators for its events and vast amounts of wealth. The televising and streaming of its games have led to major advertising deals, partnerships with video game developers, and ongoing merchandise sales that have created and maintained a steady cash flow.

The FIFA World Cups (including those hosted in Russia and Qatar that were coated in controversy fresh off the corruption scandal) have contributed to local and global economies. Countries that host the World Cup, and even the countries that win the cup, see a growth in their GDP in the years following the event. And the economic benefits of fans buying merch and flocking to sports bars to watch and celebrate the games can’t be ignored.

Adding to these economic boosts is that FIFA events have become popular among sports betting enthusiasts. The availability of online casinos makes it easier than ever to try your luck while your favourite team competes, especially with the 5 pounds deposit casinos from casinos.com.

FIFA’s Football Reign Is Far from Over

With a history that spans more than a century and an ability to survive through turbulent global times, controversial decisions, and corruption scandals, FIFA has remained a strong international organization. It’s given one of the most popular sports in the world an international stage to perform on and countless football stars for the public to celebrate and fawn over. With so much history and resilience, it’s safe to say that FIFA will remain the king of football for the foreseeable future.