Governing Bodies
FIFA clocks 120 today
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
There may be no celebration, but the world football governing body is 120 years old today, having been founded on 21 May 1904 in Paris, France. It is the foundation in France that occasioned its French name as Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA).
It was founded at the rear of the headquarters of Union des Sociétés Françaises de Sports Athlétiques (USFSA) at the Rue Saint Honoré 229 in Paris.
Rue Saint-Honore 229, where FIFA was founded in 1904
Though founded in Paris, the headquarters moved to Zurich, Switzerland in 1932. In Zurich, the headquarters have also changed twice with the current one being a five-story building, two of which are underground.
Bahnhofstrrasse 77 in Zurich which housed FIFA from 1932 to 1954.
The French name and acronym are universally adopted outside French-speaking countries. The founding members were the national associations of Belgium, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Spain (represented by Real Madrid), Sweden and Switzerland.
FIFA’s Home from 1954 to 1977: “Villa Derwad” at Hitzigweg 11, Zurich.
On the same day, the German FA (DFB) reportedly declared its intention to affiliate through a telegram. The British, despite their claims to be the originators of football, were not founding members of FIFA and only joined.
From 1977 to 1979, The fourth building to house FIFA: Aurorastrasse 60 in Zurich
England joined on 14 April 1905, Scotland and Wales in 1910 while the fourth British association, Norther Ireland joined in 1911.
FIFA House inaugurated on 21 May 1979
The founding president of FIFA was Robert Guerin of France. The first FIFA Congress was helld two days later on 23 May 1904 where the president was elected.
FIFA Headquarters since 29 May 2007
The founders at the time, including Victor E. Schneider of Switzerland and Carl Anton Wilhelm Hirschmann of the Netherlands – both vice presidents, as well as first Secretary, Louis Muhlinghaus of Belgium, faced difficulties as FIFA only existed on paper.
FIFA foundation documents
By the second FIFA Congress in Paris from 10 to 12 June 1905, other national associations of Germany, Austria, Italy and Hungary joined.
In the following months, the founding president, Guerin increasingly withdrew from sports and handed over to the vice presidents. By 1906, the English man, Daniel Burley Woolfall was elected as the FIFA President.
At the time up till 1909, , FIFA only consisted of European countries. The first outside Europe countries joined in the following order: South Africa in 1909/10, Argentina and Chile in 1912 and USA in 1913.
Nigeria provisionally joined in 1959 and got confirmed at the Rome Congress of 22 August 1960 as joint 87th member along with Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Tunisia, Kenya, Uganda, Sierra Leone, Malta and Puerto Rico.
Despite existing since 1904, FIFA was unable to organise a tournament of its own until the first World Cup in 1930. The outbreak of World War I in 1914 was a major blow.
FIFA was in comatose. Its president, Daniel Burley Woolfall died in 1918.
While the war was on and in the absence of a president, secretary, Carl Anton Wilhelm Hirschmann kept FIFA alive from his offices in Amsterdam.
As one of the founders himself, Hirschmann took contacts of all the members at the end of the war and was aided by Jules Rimet, the president of the French FA. Following the war, the four British associations left FIFA.
On 1 March 1921, Rimet became the third FIFA president.FIFA came back to life. He initiated the first World Championship in 1930. The membership grew steadily from 20.
In the 33 years of Rimet’s presidency, there was an upswing in FIFA membership and and activities.
On passing on the reins in 1954 at the beginning of the fifth World Cup in Switzerland, FIFA had 85 members. At the moment, FIFA has 211 member countries.
There have been nine substantive presidents in 120 years while three others – Carl Anton Wilhelm Hirschman of Netherlands (1918-1920), Ernst B. Thommen of Switzerland (1961) and Issa Hayatou of Cameroon (2015-2016) were in acting capacities.
Brazil’s Joao Havelange became the first non-European president in 1974. The current president is Gianni Infantino, an Italian-Swiss.
FIFA has started disciplinary proceedings against the Spanish soccer federation (RFEF) over Islamophobic and xenophobic chants during a friendly between Spain and Egypt on March 31, the global soccer body said on Tuesday.
At the RCDE Stadium near Barcelona, the home ground of LaLiga club Espanyol, Spanish supporters chanted “who doesn’t jump is a Muslim” during the World Cup warm-up match, which ended in a goalless draw.
“FIFA has opened disciplinary proceedings today against the Spanish FA for the incidents in the friendly against Egypt,” FIFA said in a statement.
Spanish police launched an investigation into the chants last week.
Spain winger Lamine Yamal condemned the chants as disrespectful and intolerable in an Instagram post.
The Egyptian Football Association also condemned the chants as an entirely unacceptable “repugnant act of racism,” and added that the acts of a small group of spectators would not affect the close relations between the Spanish and Egyptian federations.
-Reuters
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The newly appointed Acting General Secretary of the Confederation of African Football, Samson Adamu, has declared his ambition to leave a lasting legacy as he assumes one of the most influential administrative roles in African football.
Adamu was named to the position on Sunday, March 29, 2026, during a CAF Executive Committee meeting held at the Giza Palace Hotel in Cairo. His appointment, proposed by CAF President Patrice Motsepe, received unanimous ratification from the committee.
Speaking shortly after his elevation, Adamu expressed both gratitude and determination. “I am elated by this appointment. I am determined to serve African football with humility, integrity, and professionalism,” he said.
His emergence is historic, as he becomes the first Nigerian—and indeed the first West African—to occupy the position in the 69-year history of CAF, a development widely seen as a significant milestone for the region’s growing influence within continental football governance.
Adamu’s journey to the summit of African football administration reflects a career shaped by innovation, passion, and administrative excellence. Fifteen years ago, he initiated the globally acclaimed COPA Lagos Beach Soccer tournament in Nigeria’s commercial capital, Lagos. The event attracted top teams from around the world and set new benchmarks in organisation, marketing, officiating, and fan engagement.
The success of COPA Lagos played a pivotal role in Nigeria earning the hosting rights for the 2016 CAF Beach Soccer Cup of Nations, further cementing Adamu’s reputation as a forward-thinking sports administrator.
He later joined CAF in Cairo, rising through the ranks from Director of Competitions to Director of Tournaments and Events, positions in which he oversaw the planning and execution of several major continental championships.
Adamu also carries a rich administrative lineage. He is the son of Amos Adamu, a towering figure in Nigerian and international sports administration. Dr Adamu served as sole administrator of the then Nigeria Football Association in the early 1990s and later as Director of Sports Development in the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports.
He was also a central figure in Nigeria’s hosting of the 8th All-Africa Games in 2003, after securing a seat on the CAF Executive Committee in 2002 in Bamako, Mali, and earning re-election during the 2004 Africa Cup of Nations in Tunisia. His influence extended globally when he was elected into the FIFA Executive Committee in 2006, alongside serving as Director General of the National Sports Commission.
With such a formidable background and personal track record, expectations are high that Samson Adamu will bring fresh ideas, administrative stability, and a renewed sense of purpose to CAF’s operations at a time when African football is seeking greater credibility, growth, and global competitiveness.
His tenure, though currently in an acting capacity, is already being closely watched as a potential turning point in the evolution of football governance on the continent.
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Canadian soccer took centre stage in a FIFA experiment on Saturday as the country’s top-flight league began testing a “daylight” offside rule aimed at speeding up play and encouraging attacking football.
The rule was introduced at the opening match of the Canadian Premier League season as part of efforts by global soccer authorities to cut delays caused by video reviews, reduce controversy over marginal offside decisions and shift the balance of the game in favour of attackers.
“I see this as an opportunity to grow as a coach. It’s going to give me more tools for the future,” Atletico Ottawa head coach Diego Mejia told reporters.
Under the rule, an attacker is deemed onside if any part of the body that can legally score is level with, or further away from, the goal line than the second-to-last defender. An offside offence is only given if there is visible space — the so‑called “daylight” — between the attacker and the defender.
The concept has been championed for years by former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, now FIFA’s chief of global football development, as a way to ease frustration over marginal decisions and limit delays that have fueled debate long after matches have finished.
Wenger called the Canadian experience “an important pilot.”
Players from reigning champions Atletico Ottawa and Forge FC were involved in the first application of the new rule on Saturday, including a video review triggered after a penalty award was challenged by the defending side.
Under the revised Canadian system, head coaches are allowed two challenges per match for game‑changing decisions, with the referee reviewing each appeal using video assistance.
The initial review took more than five minutes but was not centred on an offside decision, as officials assessed two possible offsides, a potential foul in the buildup and a collision between the goalkeeper and the striker that led to the penalty.
The challenge was unsuccessful.
A later offside decision using the daylight rule did not interrupt the flow of the match.
Video assistance itself is also new to the Canadian league and was used for the first time on Saturday. Some commentators said officials would need time to adapt to both the revised offside interpretation and the new technology. The system in use is not full VAR, but FIFA’s lighter Football Video Support (FVS) model.
The Canadian league’s willingness to adopt the rule has given FIFA a professional testing ground, something European leagues have so far resisted.
Critics argue the change could push defenders, particularly centre-backs, to adopt more cautious positioning.
Others say it could open space in midfield, with defenders likely to hold deeper lines.
-Reuters
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