Soccer – What is FIFA?

What is FIFA?

FIFA is an international soccer organization that organizes various tournaments each year. FIFA was founded in 1904, and today it has 209 member associations. Some of these members represent their whole country while others represent only a part of their country.FIFA organizes various tournaments each year including: World Cup (composed of regional qualifiers) European Championships (UEFA), Africa Cup of Nations, Copa America, Asian Cups (AFC), CONCACAF Gold Cup (CONCACAF), and AFC Champions League.

World Cup

The World Cup is the most popular soccer tournament. It consists of 24 teams, and to qualify for the World Cup, each team needs to go through a regional qualification process. There are six continental confederations that FIFA members can participate in including Europe (UEFA), Africa (CAF), Asia (AFC), Central America (CONCACAF), North America, and South America (CONMEBOL).

The first World Cup was held in Uruguay in 1930 and since then it’s been held every four years. FIFA also organizes an Under-20 World Cup for players 20 years old or younger. This is usually held two years before the next World Cup. The latest World Cup was held in Russia from June 14th through July 15th of 2018 and was won by France.

European Championships

In 2020, the UEFA European Championship will take place in twelve different cities across Europe. This is a biennial tournament that takes place every four years. The next edition of the European Championship is set to take place in 2020 in France and Wales.

Africa Cup of Nations

Africa Cup of Nations is one of the most popular soccer tournaments in the world. It is organized by CAF, or Confederation of African Football. The tournament is open to all countries on African continent and they have created a league system to determine which country will be selected to participate in the tournament.

Since its founding in 1957, the tournament has been dominated by three nations: Cameroon with 7 titles, Egypt with 5 titles, and Ghana with 4 titles. It’s one of the most prestigious competitions for teams to win and it’s also an important opportunity for players from different clubs to compete against each other.

The current champion is Senegal after beating Egypt 4-2 win in the penalty shoot-out.

Copa America

The Copa America is a soccer tournament hosted in the Americas. It was originally called “South American Championship of Nations” and was renamed to “Copa America” in 1967. The tournament is played every one to four years, with the last edition taking place in Brazil 2021, and the next will be in Columbia 2022.

Asia Cups and AFC Champions League

The AFC is the Asian Football Confederation, which organizes the Asia Cups and AFC Champions League. The Asia Cup has been held in 1960, 1964, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1988, 1992, 1996 (as Asian Nations Cup), 2000 (as Asian Cup), 2004, 2007, 2011 and 2019. The AFC Champions League is a club association football tournament and is a qualification route for the FIFA Club World Cup. It was established in 1967 as the Asian Champion Club Tournament and became the Asian Club Championship in 1971. It was renamed to the Asian Champion Club Tournament in 2002 with a change to once every two years and then got its current name from 2017.

CONCACAF Gold Cup

The CONCACAF Gold Cup is a championship for national teams in North America, Central America, and the Caribbean. It was first held in 1991 and was last played in 2017. The CONCACAF Gold Cup is sponsored by CONCACAF and CONMEBOL. The winning team of this tournament qualifies to play in the FIFA Confederations Cup (the next World Cup for countries that don't qualify for it).

AFC Champions League

The AFC Champions League is a world-class soccer tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation. It's open to all members of the AFC and includes a total of 24 teams which are divided into eight groups. The competition is held annually and runs from February to November with teams playing 22 matches each in the group stage. The tournament winner receives 30,000,000 US dollars in prize money.