TheFIFA Congress is the supreme legislative body of theInternational Association Football Federation (French:Fédération Internationale de Football Association), commonly known by theacronymFIFA/ˈfiːfə/. FIFA is the internationalgoverning body ofassociation football,futsal andbeach soccer. The congress may beordinary orextraordinary.
An ordinary congress meets every year, an extraordinary congress may be convened by theFIFA Council (formerly Executive Committee) at any time with the support of one fifth of the members of FIFA.[1]
Each of the 211 members of FIFA has one vote in the congress. The members of FIFA can propose candidates for theWorld Cup Host andPresidency of FIFA. The FIFA Presidential Election, FIFA World Cup Host country election takes place at the congress in the year following theFIFA World Cup and FIFA Women's World Cup Host country election takes place at the congress in the year following theFIFA Women's World Cup.[2]
The FIFA Congress has been held annually since 1998. It was previously held every two years. Congresses were not held between 1915 and 1922 and 1939 to 1945, due to theFirst andSecond World Wars. FIFA Presidential Elections have taken place at the 1st, 3rd, 12th, 29th, 30th, 39th,51st,53rd,61st,65th,69th and73rd congresses.
The 1961 FIFA Extraordinary Congress in London electedStanley Rous as President.[3] The2016 FIFA Extraordinary Congress inZürich electedGianni Infantino as the new president on 26 February 2016.[4] Only five elections have had two or more candidates: the 39th (1974),51st (1998),53rd (2002),65th (2015), and2016 Extraordinary Congress.
| Congress number[5] | Year | City | Member associations attending | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 1904 |  Paris | 5 | First FIFA Congress.Robert Guérin elected as the firstpresident of FIFA. |
| 2nd | 1905 | 5 | ||
| 3rd | 1906 |  Bern | 7 | |
| 4th | 1907 |  Amsterdam | 12 | |
| 5th | 1908 |  Vienna | 16 | |
| * | 1908 |  Brussels | 7 | |
| 6th | 1909 | Budapest | 13 | |
| 7th | 1910 |  Milan | 12 | |
| 8th | 1911 |  Dresden | 11 | |
| 9th | 1912 |  Stockholm | 17 | |
| 10th | 1913 |  Copenhagen | 12 | |
| 11th | 1914 |  Christiania(Oslo) | 17 | Last Congress beforeWorld War I. |
| 12th | 1923 | Geneva | 17 | First Congress after World War I.Jules Rimet elected FIFA president. |
| 13th | 1924 | Paris | 27 | |
| 14th | 1925 |  Prague | 22 | |
| 15th | 1926 | Rome | 23 | |
| 16th | 1927 |  Helsinki | 21 | |
| 17th | 1928 | Amsterdam | 29 | |
| 18th | 1929 |  Barcelona | 23 | Uruguay selected as the host of the1930 FIFA World Cup. |
| 19th | 1930 |  Budapest | 27 | |
| 20th | 1931 |  Berlin | 25 | |
| 21st | 1932 | Stockholm | 29 | Italy selected as the host of the1934 FIFA World Cup. |
| 22nd | 1934 | Rome | 27 | |
| 23rd | 1936 |  Berlin | 37 | France selected as the host of the1938 FIFA World Cup. |
| 24th | 1938 | Paris | 30 | Last Congress beforeWorld War II. |
| 25th | 1946 |  Luxembourg | 34 | First Congress after World War II. Brazil selected as the host of the1950 FIFA World Cup. Switzerland selected as the host of the1954 FIFA World Cup. |
| 26th | 1948 |  London | 48 | |
| 27th | 1950 |  Rio de Janeiro | 35 | Sweden selected as the host of the1958 FIFA World Cup. |
| 28th | 1952 | Helsinki | 56 | |
| * | 1953 |  Paris | 48 | |
| 29th | 1954 | Bern | 52 | Arthur Drewry elected FIFA president. |
| 30th | 1956 |  Lisbon | 57 | |
| 31st | 1958 | Stockholm | 62 | |
| 32nd | 1960 |  Rome | 69 | England selected as the host of the1966 FIFA World Cup. |
| * | 1961 | London | 67 | Stanley Rous elected FIFA president. |
| 33rd | 1962 |  Santiago | 59 | |
| 34th | 1964 |  Tokyo | 99 | |
| 35th | 1966 | London | 94 | |
| 36th | 1968 |  Guadalajara | 78 | |
| 37th | 1970 | Mexico City | 86 | |
| 38th | 1972 | Paris | 102 | |
| 39th | 1974 |  Frankfurt | 122 | João Havelange elected FIFA president. |
| 40th | 1976 |  Montreal | 108 | |
| 41st | 1978 |  Buenos Aires | 107 | João Havelange elected to a second term as FIFA president. |
| 42nd | 1980 | Zürich | 103 | |
| 43rd | 1982 |  Madrid | 127 | João Havelange elected to a third term as FIFA president. |
| 44th | 1984 | Zürich | 112 | |
| 45th | 1986 | Mexico City | 111 | João Havelange elected to a fourth term as FIFA president. |
| 46th | 1988 | Zürich | 111 | United States selected as the host of the1994 FIFA World Cup. |
| 47th | 1990 | Rome | 130 | João Havelange elected to a fifth term as FIFA president. |
| 48th | 1992 | Zürich | 118 | France selected as the host of the1998 FIFA World Cup. |
| 49th | 1994 |  Chicago | 164 | |
| 50th | 1996 | Zürich | 182 | Japan and South Korea selected as the hosts of the2002 FIFA World Cup. |
| 51st (details) | 1998 |  Paris | 196 | Sepp Blatter elected FIFA president. |
| * | 1999 | Los Angeles | 195 | |
| 52nd | 2000 | Zürich | 200 | Germany selected as the host of the2006 FIFA World Cup. |
| * | 2001 | Buenos Aires | 202 | |
| * | 2002 |  Seoul | 202 | |
| 53rd (details) | 2002 | 202 | Sepp Blatter elected to a second term as FIFA president. | |
| * | 2003 |  Doha | 204 | |
| 54th | 2004 | Paris | 203 | South Africa selected as the host of the2010 FIFA World Cup. |
| 55th | 2005 |  Marrakesh | 203 | |
| 56th | 2006 | Munich | 207 | |
| 57th | 2007 | Zürich | 206 | Sepp Blatter elected to a third term as FIFA president. |
| 58th | 2008 |  Sydney | 200 | |
| 59th | 2009 |  Nassau | 205 | |
| 60th | 2010 |  Johannesburg | 207 | |
| 61st (details) | 2011 | Zürich | 208 | Sepp Blatter elected to a fourth term as FIFA president. |
| 62nd | 2012 |  Budapest | 209 | |
| 63rd | 2013 |  Port Louis | 208 | |
| 64th | 2014 |  São Paulo | 209 | |
| 65th (details) | 2015 | Zürich | 210 | Sepp Blatter elected to a fifth term as FIFA president. |
| * (details) | 2016 | 207 | Gianni Infantino elected FIFA president. | |
| 66th | 2016 | Mexico City | 209 | |
| 67th | 2017 |  Manama[6] | 211 | |
| 68th (details) | 2018 |  Moscow | 210 | United States, Mexico, and Canada selected as the hosts of the2026 FIFA World Cup. |
| 69th (details) | 2019 | Paris | 211 | Gianni Infantino elected to a second term as FIFA president. |
| 70th | 2020 | Zürich[note 1] | 211 | |
| 71st | 2021 | Zürich[note 2] | 211 | |
| 72nd | 2022 | Doha | 210 | |
| 73rd (details) | 2023 |  Kigali | 208 | Gianni Infantino elected to a third term as FIFA president. |
| 74th | 2024 |  Bangkok | 211 | Brazil selected as the host of the2027 FIFA Women's World Cup. |
| * | 2024 | Zürich[note 3] | 211 | Morocco, Portugal, and Spain selected as the hosts of the2030 FIFA World Cup. Saudi Arabia selected as the host of the2034 FIFA World Cup. |
| 75th | 2025 |  Asunción | 210 | |
| 76th | 2026 | Vancouver | TBC | 2031 FIFA Women's World Cup,2035 FIFA Women's World Cup, and2028 FIFA Women's Club World Cup host to be announced |
| 77th | 2027 | TBC | TBC | 2029 FIFA Club World Cup and2029 FIFA U-20 World Cup host to be announced |
A total of nine extraordinary congresses have taken place: 1908 (Brussels), 1953 (Paris), 1961 (London), 1999 (Los Angeles), 2001 (Buenos Aires), 2002 (Seoul), 2003 (Doha),2016 (Zürich) and 2024 (Online).[12] In the2016 Extraordinary Congress, FIFA PresidentSepp Blatter would have remained in his position until his successor is elected.[13] However, due to the fact he was suspended, the Acting FIFA President,Issa Hayatou was in charge of FIFA.[14]
