Just imagine – the very same grand and mighty FIFA, which for over a century has been organizing and ensuring the conduct of the largest international football competitions, once nearly ceased to exist due to inept management.
It’s a paradox – now it’s a monolith, but at the beginning of the 20th century, it was a European “office” barely able to attract players for the most lackluster tournament.
In much the same way, in-depth football betting has emerged as a significant player in the online entertainment and gaming industry, paralleling FIFA’s journey from humble beginnings to global success.
The Secret of Football’s Popularity
Sure, the topic might seem a bit off-track, but it’s necessary to understand why FIFA came into existence and what forces contributed to its development.
First, it’s important to clarify that this sport did not originate in Europe or in modern times.
The roots of football go back to the Roman Empire, and according to some data, something similar existed even in the era of the Egyptian pharaohs.
It’s not surprising – the game is simple, requires no expensive equipment or special skills, and can be enjoyed on any more or less flat surface.
Now, let’s trace the logic – people have always craved entertainment, and moreover, they were drawn to physical activities, but the vast majority of sports historically were inaccessible to the common people due to:
- lack of money;
- lack of suitable places;
- inability to acquire equipment;
- lack of physical and intellectual preparation.
But with football, it’s simple – take a ball (or make one, for example, from rags), and play for free as much as you wish.
Yet, that’s not the main secret behind football’s popularity.
The fact is, it’s the most team-oriented sport with an unpredictable course of the game.
Humans are herd animals; they love community and cannot see themselves without society.
During a team game, they become a single organism, thinking in unison, moving the ball with a collective effort – fulfilling one of the main social needs of human existence.
For comparison – in ancient Rome, several hundred people could fight for the ball on each side, and sometimes even organize a melee of “every man for himself,” injuring each other and enjoying it.
Anyway, it’s also a form of unity with society, albeit in a peculiar form.
Thanks to these factors, by the 18th century, football was never forgotten by humanity, constantly evolving and changing.
As a result, at the beginning of the next century, the English made it similar to the modern sport (“similar” does not mean “identical”), and a hundred years later, as football spread around the world, primarily in Europe, there arose a real need for a civilized organization of international competitions, logically leading to the creation of FIFA, which after a series of ups and downs has become the behemoth we know today, determining the fates of not only individual players but also national teams!
What is FIFA?
Federation Internationale de Football Association – forming the acronym FIFA, and in Russian transcription, it becomes the sought-after ФИФА.
Officially, the organization’s name sounds something like this – the international governing and controlling body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal.
In fact, it’s not the only organization of its kind; there are “local” committees and controlling bodies that organize football competitions between countries of limited regions, for example, in Africa, both Americas, etc.
However, they are incapable of organizing planetary-scale tournaments and championships, so in this sense, FIFA has no competitors and cannot have any, as they are simply not needed.
FIFA copes perfectly with its functions.
This organization is non-commercial, currently based in Switzerland for several reasons, including symbolic ones – this country has adhered to a policy of international neutrality for several centuries, and in football, it’s not so much about protecting national interests as about the equality of all, impartiality both economically and politically in making various decisions, etc.
FIFA’s functions include:
- adjusting football rules within international tournaments and championships (not global changes, of course, but minor ones that cannot affect the game but make life easier for athletes and referees, for example, FIFA introduced yellow and red cards in the 1970s);
- establishing and abolishing international tournaments;
- promoting football as such;
- resolving disputes between national teams, referees, etc. (kind of an unofficial judge with complete neutrality).
It’s interesting that FIFA’s statutes have changed several times over the years of the organization’s existence, but its essence has remained the same since the early 20th century, only details and nuances have been adjusted with an eye to the changing eras.
The esteemed reader might have noticed the French pronunciation of FIFA’s full name? Yes, the organization originated in France, then its headquarters moved several times (initially, it didn’t even have one), but due to traditions, they kept the “native” language of the international association.
Who Founded FIFA?
The fact is that many corporations, associations, and similar giants were created by specific individuals, for example, politicians, celebrities from the creative sphere, successful businessmen, etc.
But here’s the catch – FIFA was the result of collaboration between a number of European countries, and those who are considered the founders of football culture as such, initially resisted and did not want the creation of a controlling body.
Why? Possibly, they feared losing their “primacy” in the mega-popular sport, which it conditionally was already at the beginning of the 20th century.
Factually, the founding fathers, if one can call entire countries that, were:
- France;
- Denmark;
- Belgium;
- Sweden;
- Spain;
- Switzerland;
- The Netherlands.
Germany could conditionally be added here, but in fact, it was not among the founders, as the country’s representatives sent a telegram to the new football committee after it had been legally established.
So, they couldn’t “join in” in time.
Of course, this was all done not by the governments of the listed countries but by representatives of local football associations and clubs, with state support and approval.
Essentially, this is why FIFA is generally insulated from politics (within reasonable limits, of course), championships and tournaments are held without much regard for international events, both pleasant and not so much, and sanctions on players and national teams are imposed not because of their affiliation with any political force (except for Nazism and some similar currents), but due to violations of strictly football rules.
Foundation
So, by the beginning of the 20th century, football had spread beyond the British Isles, already playing, so to speak, friendly matches, for example, one of the first – England VS Scotland in 1872, while there already existed an association controlling such level matches, it became the Scottish Football Association, and before its creation, there was another, simply “The Football Association”.
The problem was that neither thought about involving continental European countries in major sports.
In short, skipping unnecessary details, on May 21, 1904, FIFA was founded in Paris, receiving exactly this name from the very beginning of its existence, and an additional “push” to this step on the part of the founding countries was almost an official claim by Lord Kinnaird, a very prominent figure in the football world of England, about representing Britain in the future controlling body, as the founder of football.
And was it necessary? So they did without them!
It’s interesting that the organization’s charter was not adopted immediately but a year and a half after the foundation.
There’s no exact information about the reason for such a serious delay, but most likely, the founders did not pay due attention to legal nuances, deciding that “it will do,” however, eventually they decided to fix all FIFA’s working rules on paper.
According to the document adopted on September 1, 1905, the following principles and internal “laws” were established:
- FIFA becomes the only organization in the world entitled to organize international tournaments of any levels (in general, no one could legally prohibit other associations from doing this, but an attempt at “sabotage” would lead to most participating countries simply ignoring the preparing “unofficial” competitions);
- everyone must pay – membership fees from each national association included in FIFA amounted to 50 francs per year (peanuts, yes, but at that time the amount was more or less acceptable);
- all matches are played and judged according to the rules of “The Football Association LTD”.
And many more points related to the rules of work of national football associations, for example, limiting the possibility of players performing for several “national teams” at once, about the right of these associations themselves to figure out how and whom to put in the lineup for the upcoming tournament, etc.
