This is a list of international

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

governing bodies.

Global

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

- ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' - 211 members - founded in 1904, represents nations from around the world, and is the overall governing body of recognised international football. Its premier tournament is the quadrennial

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament has ...

. *

ConIFA The Confederation of Independent Football Associations (CONIFA) is the international governing body for association football teams that are not affiliated with FIFA. Competitions Women's football All members of CONIFA are encouraged to in ...

- ''Confederation of Independent Football Associations'' - 24 members - founded in 2013, represents nations, dependencies, unrecognized states, minorities and regions not affiliated to FIFA. The main tournament is the ConIFA World Football Cup.

Defunct

NF-Board The N.F.-Board (french: Nouvelle Fédération-Board) was a federation of football associations established on 12 December 2003. It was made up of teams that represent nations, dependencies, unrecognized states, minorities, stateless peoples, r ...

- ''New Federation Board'' - 18 members + 14 provisional - founded in 2003, represents nations, dependencies, unrecognized states, minorities, stateless peoples, regions and micronations not affiliated to FIFA. The main tournament was the

VIVA World Cup The VIVA World Cup was an international association football tournament organized by the New Federation Board, an umbrella association for teams unaffiliated with FIFA, held five times between 2006 and 2012. It is succeeded by the newly organiz ...

. This organization was dissolved in January 2013.

Continental

FIFA Confederations

FIFA-member football associations are formed together into continental confederations, which organize continental national and club competitions. *

AFC AFC may stand for: Organizations * Action for Children, a UK children's charity * AFC Enterprises, the franchisor of Popeye's Chicken and Biscuits * Africa Finance Corporation, a pan-African multilateral development finance institution * A ...

- ''Asian Football Confederation'' - 47 members - founded in 1954, represents Asian nations in football. The main tournament is the

AFC Asian Cup The AFC Asian Cup is the primary association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), determining the continental champion of Asia. It is the second oldest cont ...

. * CAF - ''Confédération Africaine de Football'' - 54 members + 2 associate - founded in 1957 - represents

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

n nations in football. The main tournament is the

African Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations referred to as AFCON (french: Coupe d'Afrique des Nations, sometimes referred to as CAN, or TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons), and sometimes as African Cup of Nations, is the main internat ...

. *

CONCACAF The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football,, ; french: Confédération de football d'Amérique du Nord, d'Amérique centrale et des Caraïbes, . Dutch uses the English name. abbreviated as CONCACAF ( ; types ...

- ''Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football'' - 41 members - founded in 1961 represents

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

n and

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean ...

nations. The main tournament is the

CONCACAF Gold Cup The CONCACAF Gold Cup ( es, Copa de Oro de la CONCACAF, french: Coupe D'or CONCACAF) is the main association football competition of the men's national football teams governed by CONCACAF, determining the continental champion of North Ameri ...

. *

CONMEBOL The South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL, , or CSF; es, Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol; pt, Confederação Sul-Americana de Futebol) is the continental governing body of football in South America (apart from Guyana, Surina ...

- ''Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol'' - 10 members - founded in 1916 represents

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sou ...

n nations in football. The main tournament is the

Copa América The Copa América ( en, America Cup) or CONMEBOL Copa América, known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship (''Campeonato Sudamericano de Fútbol'' in Spanish and ''Campeonato Sul-Americano de Futebol'' in Portuguese), is the t ...

. * OFC - ''Oceania Football Confederation'' - 11 members + 2 associate - founded in 1966 represents

Oceania Oceania (, , ) is a geographical region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern and Western hemispheres, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of and a population of around 44.5 million ...

n nations in football. The main tournament is the

OFC Nations Cup The OFC Nations Cup is an international association football tournament held among the OFC member nations. It was held every two years from 1996 to 2004; before 1996 there were two other tournaments held at irregular intervals, under the nam ...

. *

UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs fo ...

''Union of European Football Associations'' - 55 members - founded in 1954 represents

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

an nations in football. The main tournament is the

UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations ( UEFA). The competition is conte ...

, also known as UEFA Euro.

Non-FIFA Confederations

Two continental confederations exist within the NF-Board. * CSANF - ''Consejo Sudamericano de Nuevas Federaciones'' - 4 members + 1 associate - founded in 2007 represents teams not affiliated to FIFA in South America.

Inter-continental

The following confederations consist of FIFA member associations that cross continental boundaries. * UAFA - ''Union of Arab Football Associations'' - 22 members - founded in 1974, represents

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

nations from Africa and Asia. The main tournament is the

Arab Cup The FIFA Arab Cup ( ar, كأس العرب, translit=Kaʾs al-ʿArab), or simply Arab Cup, is an international association football competition which has been organized by FIFA since 2021, and is contested by the senior men's national teams of ...

Regional

Africa

Affiliated to CAF *

CECAFA The Council for East and Central Africa Football Associations ( sw, Baraza la Mashirikisho ya Mpira wa Miguu Afrika Mashariki na Kati, french: Conseil des Associations de Football d'Afrique de l'Est et Centrale, ar, مؤتمر جمعيات شر� ...

-''Council of East and Central African Football Associations'' - 10 members + 1 associate - founded in 1927, represents nations generally regarded as forming the regions of

East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historica ...

and some nations of

Central Africa Central Africa is a subregion of the African continent comprising various countries according to different definitions. Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Co ...

. The main tournament is the

CECAFA Cup The CECAFA Cup, is the oldest football tournament in Africa. It is organized by the Council for East and Central Africa Football Associations ( CECAFA). A FIFA competition, it includes participants of football playing national teams from the East ...

. *

COSAFA Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (french: Conseil des Associations de Football en Afrique Australe; pt, Conselho das Associações de Futebol da África Austral), officially abbreviated as COSAFA, is an association of the football ...

- ''Council of Southern African Football Associations'' - 14 members + 1 associate - founded in 1997, represents nations generally regarded as forming

Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number o ...

, as well as island states off the coast of Southern Africa. The main tournament is the

COSAFA Cup The COSAFA Cup or COSAFA Senior Challenge Cup is an annual tournament for teams from Southern Africa organized by Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (COSAFA), inaugurated after the ban against the Republic of South Africa had been ...

. * WAFU (UFOA) - ''Union of West African Football Associations'' - 8 members - founded in 1977, one of two bodies that represent nations in

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali ...

. The main tournament is the

WAFU Nations Cup The WAFU Nations Cup (also known as the WAFU Cup of Nations or simply the WAFU Cup) is an association football competition that is contested by representative teams of the West African Football Union. History A trophy was commissioned by President ...

. *

UNAF The Union of North African Football (UNAF; ar, اتحاد شمال إفريقيا لكرة القدم, Ittiḥād Shamāl Ifrīqyā li-Kurat al-Qadam; french: Union nord-africaine de football) is an association football organising body. It was ...

- ''Union of North African Federations'' - 5 members - founded in 2005, represents nations regarded as forming

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

. *

UNIFFAC The Central African Football Federations' Union (french: Union des Fédérations de Football d'Afrique Centrale; pt, União das Federações Centroafricanas de Futebol; es, Unión de Federaciones de Fútbol de África Central), officially abbrevi ...

- ''Central African Football Federations' Union'' - 8 members - represents some of the nations that form Central Africa. The main tournament is the CEMAC Cup.

Asia

Affiliated to AFC * WAFF - ''West Asian Football Federation'' - 12 members - founded in 2000, represents nations at the western extremity of the continent. The main tournament is the WAFF Championship. ** AGCFF - ''Arab Gulf Cup Football Federation'' - 8 members - founded in 2016, represents the Arab states of the Persian Gulf. The main tournament is the

Arabian Gulf Cup The Arabian Gulf Cup ( ar, كأس الخليج العربي, ''Kass Al-Khaleej Al-Arabi''), often referred to simply as the Gulf Cup, is a biennial football competition governed by the Arab Gulf Cup Football Federation for its eight member na ...

. * EAFF - ''East Asian Football Federation'' - 10 members - founded in 2002, represents nations generally agreed to constitute the "far east". The main tournament is the EAFF E-1 Football Championship. * SAFF - ''South Asian Football Federation'' - 7 members - founded in 1997, represents nations from South Asia. The main tournament is the

SAFF Championship The South Asian Football Federation Championship, commonly known as SAFF Championship (previously known as ''South Asian Association of Regional Co-operation Gold Cup'' and ''South Asian Football Federation Gold Cup''), is the main international ...

. * CAFA - ''Central Asian Football Association'' - 6 members - founded in 2015, represents nations from Central Asia. The main tournament is the CAFA Championship. *

AFF #REDIRECT AFF Aff comes from Brazil and comes from the great general Barbaros Kee. it comes from that he often used to say Aff when he did something. {{R from other capitalisation ...

- ''ASEAN Football Federation'' - 12 members - founded in 1984, represents nations from Southeast Asia. The main tournament is the

AFF Championship The ASEAN Football Federation Championship (less formally the AFF Championship or AFF Cup), currently known as the AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup for sponsorship reason, is the primary association football tournament organized by the ASEAN Football ...

North America

Affiliated to CONCACAF * CFU - ''Caribbean Football Union'' - 30 members - represents all nations in the Caribbean. The main tournament is the

Caribbean Cup The Caribbean Cup was the championship tournament for national association football teams that are members of the Caribbean Football Union. The first competition, established by Shell and run by former England Cricket fast bowler Fred Rumsey, wa ...

. ** LIFA - ''Leeward Islands Football Association'' - 11 members - founded in 1949, represents nations of the Leeward archipelago and is affiliated to CFU. The main tournament is the

Leeward Islands Tournament The Leeward Islands Football Association (LIFA) was formed in 1949. Of the early tournaments only the winners are known; for the recent ones, the structure is largely unknown. It is also not known whether tournaments were staged in the missing y ...

. ** WIFA - ''Windward Islands Football Association'' - 4 members - represents nations of the Windward archipelago and is affiliated to CFU. The main tournament is the Windward Islands Tournament. *

NAFU The North American Football Union (NAFU; french: Union Nord-Américaine de Football; es, Unión Norteamericana de Fútbol) is a regional grouping under CONCACAF of national football organizations in the ''North American Zone''. The NAFU has no o ...

- ''North American Football Union'' - 3 members - represents the three sovereign nations of North America. The main tournament was the now defunct

North American Nations Cup The North American Nations Cup and NAFC Championship were association football tournaments for teams in the area of North America. In 1947 and 1949, the NAFC Championship was organized by the North American Football Confederation. Cuba, Mexico, ...

. * UNCAF ''Union Centroamericana de Fútbol'' - 7 members - represents the seven nations of Central America. The main tournament is the

UNCAF Nations Cup The Copa Centroamericana (, Spanish for "Central American Cup") was the main association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ''Unión Centroamericana de Fútbol'' (UNCAF), the sport's Central A ...

Defunct

* CCCF - ''Confederacion Centroamericana y del Caribe de Futbol'' - 37 members - dissolved in 1961, represented Central America and Caribbean region and was directly affiliated to FIFA. The main tournament was the

CCCF Championship The CCCF Championship was an association football (soccer) tournament made for teams in the area of Central America and the Caribbean between the years of 1941 and 1961. It was founded in 1938 and the precursor of the CONCACAF, that was formed whe ...

. * CENF - ''Confederation of European New Federations'' - 0 members - founded in 2007 and dissolved in 2008, represented teams not affiliated to FIFA in Europe, and was affiliated to NF-Board. The main tournament was the CENF Cup, but was never played. * FIFI - ''Federation of International Football Independents'' - 5 members - represents nations, dependencies and unrecognized states not affiliated to FIFA. The main tournament was the FIFI Wild Cup. * IFU - ''International Football Union'' - 2 provisional members - founded in 2009 as an international football confederation for nations and territories not admitted to FIFA, was dissolved in 2010. * NAFC - ''North American Football Confederation'' - 4 members - founded in 1946 and dissolved in 1961, represented the North American region and was directly affiliated to FIFA. The main tournament was the

NAFC Championship The North American Nations Cup and NAFC Championship were association football tournaments for teams in the area of North America. In 1947 and 1949, the NAFC Championship was organized by the North American Football Confederation. Cuba, Mexico, a ...

. * PFC ''Panamerican Football Confederation'' - 50 members - founded in 1946 represents teams from America. The main tournament is the

Panamerican Championship The Panamerican Championship was an international football tournament held by the Panamerican Football Confederation every four years with three editions held from 1952 through 1960.

. * UIAFA - Union Internationale Amateur de Football Association - 3, later 5 members - founded in 1908 and dissolved in 1912. Main tournament was the Amateur European Championship.

External links

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