Written by Introduction to Federations and Confederations
The framework provided by Football Federations of the Future enables each national association to build unique vision and strategic plan for the development of football in its own nation.
It is based on the realisation that football’s stakeholders are themselves changing; not only in terms of how they want to engage and experience the sport, but also in terms of the standard of customer service and breadth of product offering they expect from the organisations responsible for governing and administering the game
National associations must comprehend how they must change in order to meet the problems and capitalize on opportunities in this constantly changing and fiercely competitive environment if football is to expand across Europe.
The framework provided by Football Federations of the Future allows them to accomplish this.
Classification of football federations
International
- FIFA – Fédération Internationale de Football Association – It was established in 1904, has 208 members, and is the organisation in charge of overseeing official international football. The four-year FIFA World Cup is its most prestigious tournament.
- NF-Board – New Federation Board – The group, which was created in 2003 and has 18 members plus 14 provisional members, represents governments that are not associated with FIFA, as well as dependencies, minorities, stateless peoples, regions, and micronations. The VIVA World Cup is the major tournament.
Continental
In order to organise continental national and club competitions, member football associations join together to create continental confederations.
- AFC – Asian Football Confederation – Asian football teams are represented by the 46 members + 1 associate organisation, created in 1954. The Asian Cup is the major tournament.
- CAF – Confédération Africaine de Football – African nations are represented in football by a 53 member + 2 associate organisations, created in 1957. The African Cup of Nations is the major tournament.
- CONCACAF- Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football – Founded in 1961, the 40-member group represents countries in North America, Central America, and the Caribbean. The CONCACAF Gold Cup is the major tournament.
- CONMEBOL – Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol -South American football is represented by 10 members and was created in 1916. The Copa America is the major tournament.
- OFC – Oceania Football Confederation – Football teams from Oceanian countries are represented by 11 members and 5 associate members. The OFC Nations Cup is the major tournament.
- UEFA – Union of European Football Associations – Football teams from Europe are represented by 53 members and were created in 1954. The UEFA European Championship is the major tournament.
Non-FIFA Confederations
- CSANF – Consejo Sudamericano de Nuevas Federaciones – covers South American teams that are not affiliated with FIFA, 4 members + 1 associate; formed in 2007.
- NAANF – North America and Arctic New Federations – 0 members; established in 2008; represents non-FIFA teams in the Arctic, Caribbean, Central America, and North America.
Inter-Continental
The following confederations are formed of associations that belong to FIFA but are located on different continents.
- GFU – Gulf Football Union – formed in 1968, has 8 members, and represents Arab countries in the Persian Gulf region. The Gulf Cup is the major tournament.
- PFC – Panamerican Football Confederation – Teams from America are represented by a 50 member organisation created in 1946. The Panamerican Championship is the major tournament.
- UAFA – Union Arab de Football Association – Founded in 1974, the 22-member group represents Arab countries in Asia and Africa. The Arab Nations Cup is the major tournament.
Regional
Africa: Affiliated to CAF
- WAFU – Union of West African Football Associations -One of two organisations that represent states in West Africa; 8 members; formed in 1977. The CSSA Nations Cup is the major tournament.
- UNAF – Union of North African Federations – 5 members; established in 2005; represents countries thought to make up North Africa.
- UFOA – Union du Football de l’Ouest Afrique – One of two groups that represent countries in West Africa has seven members. The CEDEAO Cup is the major tournament.
Asia: Affiliated to AFC
- EAFF – East Asian Football Federation – Founded in 2002, this group of 9 members + 1 provisional member represents the “far east” of countries. The East Asian Cup is the major tournament.
- AFF – ASEAN Football Federation – 12 members, established in 1984, represent Southeast Asian countries. The AFF Football Championship is the major tournament.
North America: Affiliated to CONCACAF
- CFU – Caribbean Football Union – 30 members, representing all Caribbean countries. The Caribbean Cup is the major tournament.
- LIFA – Leeward Islands Football Association – 11 members; established in 1949; connected with CFU; and represents countries in the Leeward archipelago. The Leeward Islands Tournament is the major tournament.
- WIFA – Windward Islands Football Association – 4 members; connected with CFU; represents the Windward archipelago. The Windward Islands Tournament is the major tournament.
- NAFU – North American Football Union – The three independent nations of North America are represented by the 3 members. The now-defunct North American Nations Cup served as the major tournament
And there is also some other federations such as
- FIFI – Federation of International Football Independents – 5 members – represent FIFA-unaffiliated countries, dependencies, and unrecognised states. The FIFI Wild Cup was the major tournament.
- IFU – International Football Union – Founded in 2009 as an international soccer federation for countries and territories that had not been granted FIFA membership, it was dissolved in 2010.
- NAFC – North American Football Confederation – Established in 1946 and disbanded in 1961, this group of 4 members, represented North America and had a close connection to FIFA. The NAFC Championship was the major tournament.
