IFab Concept
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The International Football Association Board (IFAB) is an international self-regulatory body of
association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
that is known for determining the Laws of the Game, the regulations for the gameplay of football. It was founded in 1886 in order to establish standardised regulations or "Laws" for the gameplay of international competition, and has since acted as the primary maintainer ("Guardian") of these Laws.
FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...
, a prominent governing body for football, has recognised IFAB's jurisdiction over its Laws since its establishment in 1904. IFAB is a distinct body from FIFA, although FIFA is represented on the board and holds 50% of the voting power. The founding football associations of IFAB,
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
,
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
,
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
and
Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
each have permanent seats on the organisation. Amendments to the Laws mandate a three-quarter
supermajority A supermajority is a requirement for a proposal to gain a specified level of support which is greater than the threshold of one-half used for a simple majority. Supermajority rules in a democracy can help to prevent a majority from eroding fun ...
vote, meaning that FIFA's support is necessary but not sufficient for a motion to pass.


History


Establishment

Although the rules of football had largely been standardised by the early 1880s, England's
Football Association A football association, also known as a football federation, soccer federation, or soccer association, is a governing body for association football. Many of them are members of the sport's regional bodies such as UEFA and CONMEBOL and the world gov ...
(the FA), the
Scottish Football Association The Scottish Football Association (; also known as the Scottish FA and the SFA) is the governing body of football in Scotland and has the ultimate responsibility for the control and development of football in Scotland. Members of the SFA incl ...
(SFA), the
Football Association of Wales The Football Association of Wales (FAW; ) is the Governing bodies of sports in Wales, governing body of association football and futsal in Wales, and controls the Wales national football team, its Wales women's national football team, correspo ...
(FAW) and the
Irish Football Association The Irish Football Association (IFA) is the governing body for association football in Northern Ireland. It organised the Ireland national football team (1882–1950), Ireland national football team from 1880 to 1950, which after 1954, became t ...
(IFA) had conflicting rules. When international matches were played, the rules of the home team's national association were used. While this solution was technically feasible, it was impractical. To remedy this, the FAs initialised a meeting on 6 December 1882 in Queen’s Hotel,
Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
in order to systematise a set of rules that could be applied uniformly to matches between the UK football associations' national teams. This was later named the “ International Football Conference”. In the summer of 1885, the English FA declared that it legalised professionalism. The Scottish FA responded that it would refuse to allow professionals in its own national team, and would refuse to play international matches against an England team containing professionals. The Irish FA attempted to arbitrate by proposing that "an international conference should be held each year, say, in August, to be called in turn by each national association to deal with the laws of the game, and discuss other matters of interest to Association football, and at which international disputes could be adjusted".


Inaugural meeting and FIFA’s integration

The initial meeting of IFAB took place at The FA's offices at
Holborn Viaduct Holborn Viaduct is a road bridge in London and the name of the street which crosses it (which forms part of the A40 road, A40 route). It links Holborn, via Holborn Circus, with Newgate Street, in the City of London, England financial distri ...
in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
on 2 June 1886. The FA, SFA, FAW and IFA each had equal voting rights. It was chaired by Sir Francis Marindin, and attended by
Charles W. Alcock Charles William Alcock (2 December 1842 – 26 February 1907) was an English sportsman, administrator, author and editor. He was a major instigator in the development of both international football and cricket, as well as being the creator of t ...
acting as Secretary. The meeting was notable for Marindin’s proposal, which outlined "That no player shall wear any kind of projection on the soles of heels of his boots with the exception of flat leather bars of an approved pattern". During IFAB’s annual general meeting (AGM) on 8 June 1912, the secretary, J.K. McDowall, scrutinised a letter that was attributed to the recently established FIFA, requesting that IFAB would invite a member of FIFA to sit on the Board. The petition was analysed, and IFAB concluded that it wasn’t the right time to establish FIFA as a member, and McDowall proceeded to write a response to the organisation explaining the consensus. At a special meeting held on 25 January 1913 in
Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...
, IFAB approved FIFA’s request after a proposition by The FA was made proposing that two members from FIFA should attend the board, making FIFA the fifth member of IFAB.


Post-war

For the first four post-war IFAB meetings (1920, 1921, 1922, and 1923), FIFA was once again excluded, on account of a dispute between FIFA and the home nations regarding payments to amateur players. From 1924, the dispute had been reconciled, and FIFA resumed attendance of IFAB meetings. In 1958, the Board agreed on a voting system that would be used to this day. Since Irish partition in 1921, the IFA has evolved to become the organising body for football in Northern Ireland, with football in the
Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...
being organised by the FAI. A request for the FAI to become a member of IFAB was denied at the 1923 annual general meeting.


Operations


Membership

The IFAB is made up of representatives from England's
Football Association A football association, also known as a football federation, soccer federation, or soccer association, is a governing body for association football. Many of them are members of the sport's regional bodies such as UEFA and CONMEBOL and the world gov ...
(The FA), the
Scottish Football Association The Scottish Football Association (; also known as the Scottish FA and the SFA) is the governing body of football in Scotland and has the ultimate responsibility for the control and development of football in Scotland. Members of the SFA incl ...
(SFA), the
Football Association of Wales The Football Association of Wales (FAW; ) is the Governing bodies of sports in Wales, governing body of association football and futsal in Wales, and controls the Wales national football team, its Wales women's national football team, correspo ...
(FAW) and Northern Ireland's
Irish Football Association The Irish Football Association (IFA) is the governing body for association football in Northern Ireland. It organised the Ireland national football team (1882–1950), Ireland national football team from 1880 to 1950, which after 1954, became t ...
(IFA)—and the ''
Fédération Internationale de Football Association The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...
'' (FIFA, the International Federation of Association Football), the international governing body for football. Each British association has one vote and FIFA has four. IFAB deliberations must be approved by three-quarters of the vote, or at least six of the eight votes. Thus, FIFA's approval is necessary for any IFAB decision, but FIFA alone cannot change the Laws of the Game—they need to be agreed by at least two of the UK members. As of 2016, all members must be present for a binding vote to proceed.


Meetings of the board

The Board meets twice a year, once to decide on possible changes to the rules governing the game of Football (the Annual General Meeting (AGM)) and once to deliberate on its internal affairs (the Annual Business Meeting (ABM)). In
FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...
years, the AGM is held at FIFA's offices; otherwise, it rotates between Northern Ireland, Wales, England and Scotland in that order. Four weeks before the AGM, the member associations must send their written proposals to the secretary of the host association. FIFA then prints a list of suggestions that are distributed to all other associations for examination. The AGM is held either in February or March and the ABM is held between September and October. In cases of necessity, the Board can meet in a Special Meeting in addition to the two ordinary annual meetings. As of December 2012, the last Special Meeting was hosted by FIFA in Zürich on 5 July 2012. The decisions of each year's Annual General Meeting of the Board regarding changes to the Laws of the Game enter into force from 1 July (and are binding on FIFA and on the other members of the Board, and, given that FIFA's Statutes establish that FIFA and its member associations and affiliates adhere to the Laws of the Game laid down by IFAB, those changes bind also FIFA's other member associations, FIFA's continental confederations of member associations, and the subnational entities of the national associations) but confederations, member associations and other bodies whose current season has not ended by 1 July may delay the introduction of the adopted alterations to the Laws of the Game in their competitions until the beginning of their next season.FIFA Statutes
FIFA
As well as permanent changes to the Laws, IFAB also authorises trials of potential amendments.


Panels and Subcommittees

Source:


Advisory Panel

*
Mercy Akide Mercy Joy Akide Udoh (; born 26 August 1975) is a Nigerian former footballer who played as a midfielder for the Nigeria women's national football team. Early life Mercy started playing football at the age of five with her oldest brother Seleipi ...
:
FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...
*
Daniel Amokachi Daniel Owefin Amokachi (; born 30 December 1972) is a Nigerian football manager and former professional player. As a player he was a forward who notably played in the Premier League for Everton and was part of their 1995 FA Cup winning team, ...
: CAF *
Zvonimir Boban Zvonimir Boban (; born 8 October 1968) is a Croatian former professional footballer who works at UEFA as the Chief of Football. A midfielder, Boban played most of his career for Italian club AC Milan with whom he won four Serie A titles and one ...
:
UEFA The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...
* Kay Cossington: IFAB * Diederik Dewaele: ECA * Todd Durbin: WLF *
Jill Ellis Jillian Anne Ellis (born 6 September 1966) is an English-American football manager and executive who is the Chief Football Officer of FIFA and will serve as part of the world governing body's executive management team, driving the development an ...
:
FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...
* Carlos Enrique Fernández Cruz:
CONCACAF The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football, abbreviated as CONCACAF ( ; typeset for branding purposes since 2018 as Concacaf), is one of FIFA's six continental governing bodies for association football. Its 4 ...
*
Luís Figo Luís Filipe Madeira Caeiro Figo (; born 4 November 1972) is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a winger for Sporting CP, Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Inter Milan. He won 127 caps for the Portugal national team, a one-t ...
:
UEFA The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...
*
Cheryl Foster Cheryl Foster (born 4 October 1980) is a Welsh football referee and former player. She became the all-time record appearance holder for the Wales women's national football team in 2009, after making her senior international debut in 1997. At cl ...
: IFAB * Aaron Hughes:
IFA IFA or Ifa may refer to: Organisations Economics * Independent financial adviser, a type of financial services professional in the UK * Index Fund Advisors * Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, representing actuaries in the UK * Institute of Act ...
*
Mehdi Mahdavikia Mehdi Mahdavikia (; born 24 July 1977) is an Iranian professional association football, football coach and former player usually played as a winger (association football), right winger or right back. He was at Hamburger SV as a youth coach, and ...
: AFC * Pedro Martínez Losa: SFA *
Francisco Maturana Francisco Antonio Maturana García, also known as ''Pacho'' Maturana (born February 15, 1949) is a Colombian ex-football player and football manager. Under his management, Atletico Nacional was the first team of the nation to win the Copa Libe ...
:
CONMEBOL CONMEBOL ( ) or CSF (; ; ), is the continental governing body of football in South America and it is one of FIFA's six continental confederations. The oldest continental confederation in the world, its headquarters are located in Luque, Parag ...
*
Hidetoshi Nakata is a Japanese former professional Association football, footballer who played as a midfielder. Considered one of the best talents to come from an Asian Football Confederation (AFC) country in the early late 1990s and early 2000s, Nakata became ...
: AFC *
Geremi Njitap Geremi Sorele Njitap Fotso (born 20 December 1978), known simply as Geremi, is a Cameroonian former professional association football, footballer. He was a versatile player able to play at right back, right midfield or defensive midfielder, know ...
: FIFPRO *
Nery Pumpido Nery Alberto Pumpido (born 30 July 1957) is an Argentine Association football, football coach and former Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper who played for Argentina national football team, Argentina in two FIFA World Cup, World Cups. ...
:
CONMEBOL CONMEBOL ( ) or CSF (; ; ), is the continental governing body of football in South America and it is one of FIFA's six continental confederations. The oldest continental confederation in the world, its headquarters are located in Luque, Parag ...
* Jamaal Shabazz:
CONCACAF The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football, abbreviated as CONCACAF ( ; typeset for branding purposes since 2018 as Concacaf), is one of FIFA's six continental governing bodies for association football. Its 4 ...
* Ivan Vicelich: OFC *
Arsène Wenger Arsène Charles Ernest Wenger (born 22 October 1949) is a French former association football, football Manager (association football), manager and football player, player who is currently serving as FIFA's Chief of Global Football Development. ...
:
FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...
* Lydia Williams:
FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...


Technical Panel

* Enrique Cáceres:
CONMEBOL CONMEBOL ( ) or CSF (; ; ), is the continental governing body of football in South America and it is one of FIFA's six continental confederations. The oldest continental confederation in the world, its headquarters are located in Luque, Parag ...
*
Noumandiez Doué Noumandiez Desiré Doué (born 29 September 1970) is a football referee from Côte d'Ivoire. He became a FIFA referee in 2004. Doué has refereed in international tournaments including the 2010, 2012, and 2013 Africa Cup of Nations competitions. H ...
: CAF *
Shamsul Maidin Shamsul Maidin (born 16 April 1966) is a Singaporean association football referee. He first became a referee in 1996 and retired in 2007. Shamsul has been the AFC Director of Referees since 2016 where he has contributed to the development of As ...
: AFC *
Nicola Rizzoli Nicola Rizzoli (; born 5 October 1971) is an Italian former association football, football referee (association football), referee who refereed in the Italian Serie A from 2002 to 2017 and was a FIFA-listed referee from 2007 to 2017. He refereed ...
:
CONCACAF The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football, abbreviated as CONCACAF ( ; typeset for branding purposes since 2018 as Concacaf), is one of FIFA's six continental governing bodies for association football. Its 4 ...
*
Roberto Rosetti Roberto Rosetti (born 18 September 1967) is an Italian former football referee. He is fluent in Italian (native), English and French. He started refereeing in 1983, and took charge of his first match in the Italian Serie A in 1996. He received h ...
:
UEFA The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...
* Kevin Stoltenkamp: OFC


Technical Subcommittee

* Crawford Allan: SFA *
Massimo Busacca Massimo Busacca (born 6 February 1969) is a Swiss former football referee, who is FIFA Director of Refereeing, overseeing the protection of football’s core values and the continuous improvement of the game through the development of match off ...
:
FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...
* William Campbell:
IFA IFA or Ifa may refer to: Organisations Economics * Independent financial adviser, a type of financial services professional in the UK * Index Fund Advisors * Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, representing actuaries in the UK * Institute of Act ...
*
Pierluigi Collina Pierluigi Collina (; born 13 February 1960) is an Italian former football referee. He was named "The World's Best Referee" by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics six consecutive times from 1998 to 2003. Collina is sti ...
:
FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...
*
David Elleray David Roland Elleray, (born 3 September 1954), is an English former football referee who officiated in the Football League, Premier League and for FIFA. As of September 2021 he held the position of Technical Director at the IFAB. During his c ...
: IFAB * Lee Evans: FAW


List of IFAB Annual General Meetings


References


External links

*
History of IFAB, including minutes of the meetings
Soccer South Bay Referee Association
FIFA/IFAB paper on the role of the IFAB
FIFA {{Authority control Association football governing bodies FIFA Laws of association football Sports organizations established in 1886 1886 establishments in England