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The International Federation of AssociationFootball , commonly famous by theacronym FIFA (usual English pronunciation:/fifə/), is the international governing body

ˈ ː

of association football. Its headquarters are placed in Zürich, Switzerland, and itscurrent president is Sepp Blatter. FIFA isresponsible for the organization andgovernance of football's most importantinternational tournaments, most notably theFIFA World Cup, held since 1930.The need for a only body to oversee thegame became apparent at the beginning of the 20th century with the rising popularity of international fixtures. FIFA was founded inParis on 21 May 1904; the French name andacronym remain, even outside French-speaking countries. The founding memberswere the national associations of Belgium,Denmark, France, The Netherlands, Spain,Sweden and Switzerland. Also, that same

day, the German Association declared itsintention of affiliating through a telegram.The first president of FIFA was RobertGuérin. Guérin was replaced in 1906 byDaniel Burley Woolfall from England, bythen a member organization. The nexttournament staged, the football competitionfor the 1908 Olympics in London was moresuccessful, despite the presence of professional footballers, contrary to thefounding principles of FIFA.Membership of FIFA expanded beyondEurope with the application of South Africain 1908, Argentina and Chile in 1912, andCanada and the United States in 1913.During World War 1st, with many playerssent off to war and the possibility of journeyfor international fixtures severely limited,there were few international fixtures, and theorganization’s survival was in doubt. Post-war, following the death of Woolfall, theorganization was run by Dutchman CarlHirschmann. It was saved from extinction,

but at the cost of the withdrawal of theHome Nations (of the United Kingdom),who cited an unwillingness to participate ininternational competitions with their recentWorld War enemies. The Home Nationslater resumed their membership.The FIFA collection is held by the NationalFootball Museum in England.FIFA is an association established under theLaws of Switzerland. Its headquarters are inZurich.FIFA's supreme body is the FIFA Congress,an assembly made up of representativesfrom each affiliated member association.The Congress assembles in ordinary sessiononce every year and, additionally,extraordinary sessions have been held once ayear since 1998. Only the Congress can passchanges to FIFA's statutes.Congress elects the President of FIFA, itsGeneral Secretary and the other members of FIFA's Executive Committee. The President