Frequently asked questions

FIFA is the global guardian and governing body of football, representing and serving 209 national football associations. Our mission is to develop football everywhere and for all, to touch, inspire and unite the world with international events, and to build a better future through the power of the game. We work with our members to protect and strengthen the integrity of the game and to create a solid foundation for the future health of football. We redistribute the financial success of the FIFA World Cup™ so that everyone can have the chance to play football. FIFA also has a duty to society that goes beyond the game: we are committed to working in as fair and sustainable way as possible.
For more information, visit the Who We Are section on FIFA.com.

All jobs are posted in the Jobs section on FIFA.com so please check there for updates. Applications for vacancies can only be submitted through our online recruiting tool (link will be provided in the job advert). We do not process applications that reach us via any other method, e.g. by e-mail or post. Please note that due to the many applications that we receive, processing times will vary but we will get back to you as soon as we can. Good luck!

FIFA unites the world through the FIFA World Cup and its many other competitions. In total, FIFA organises 16 different football tournaments, and information on all of these can be found in the FIFA Tournaments section on our website, FIFA.com.

Information about how the points are calculated and other useful facts can be found in the Ranking and Statistics section on FIFA.com.

Most of FIFA’s revenue comes from the FIFA World Cup. The success and sustainability of this event is crucial to FIFA’s work and to the future of global football development. Thanks to its success and popularity, we are able to attract private sector funding to help with the costs of staging all of our international tournaments, of running and governing the global game, and of implementing global football development programmes. In line with the principle of solidarity, we give as much of our revenue as possible back to the global football community in order to create opportunities for all. For more details on FIFA’s finances, please refer to the FIFA Financial Report and the Solidarity Model.

FIFA has adopted a zero-tolerance approach towards match manipulation and started to take significant steps towards ensuring the integrity of football worldwide back in 2005 when FIFA’s subsidiary Early Warning System (EWS) was founded with the aim of monitoring FIFA competitions, identifying any irregular activity on the sports betting market and exposing potential manipulation attempts. In May 2011, the FIFA-INTERPOL initiative was established and recognises the complexity of corruption on a global scale. Its aim is to develop and implement global training, education and prevention measures to overcome illegal betting and match manipulation.

Launched in 2012, the FIFA integrity initiative embraces all 209 member associations and focuses on various aspects, including the five main areas of prevention, detection, intelligence-gathering, investigation and sanctions, and the creation of a FIFA integrity team to analyse and assist member associations and confederations on request and to establish basic structures and processes for fighting match manipulation. This integrated approach aims to cover a range of areas such as legal and disciplinary, security, betting monitoring, and fraud detection and prevention, and involves reviewing policies and procedures, conducting analyses of threats and vulnerability, and assessing the effectiveness of regulations and applicable laws against match manipulation at national and confederation level.

For more information, please refer to the Security section on FIFA.com.

Please visit the FIFA Quality Programme section on FIFA.com. I have a proposal/idea I would like to share with FIFA. Please refer to our Unsolicited Submission Policy document on FIFA.com for more information.

Visitors are welcome in our entrance lobby and the gardens from Monday to Friday between the hours of 08.00 and 18.00. In the lobby there is a replica of the FIFA World Cup Trophy and other FIFA trophies in addition to footballs from all of the World Cups since 1970. There is also a small souvenir shop, which is open from 08.30 to 17.30. Corporate or group visits are available upon request at visits@fifa.org.

The bidding process for FIFA tournaments is summarised in the Bidding section on FIFA.com.

The FIFA Code of Ethics was drafted in 2004 to protect the integrity and reputation of football. Please refer to the Governance section of FIFA.com for more information and the full FIFA Code of Ethics.

We are determined to keep football free of doping. It is our duty to protect players from harm and ensure that footballers can compete on a level playing field. Our anti-doping strategy relies on education and prevention. Our responsibility in the fight against doping is acknowledged by stringent doping control regulations, such as the FIFA Anti-Doping Regulations, ongoing data collection and support for evidence-based research. We are also a committed partner of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in the much-needed worldwide collaboration to safeguard the health of athletes and the spirit of fair competition.

We are regrettably unable to help with financial assistance requests. We already operate a number of our own initiatives aimed at directly benefiting local and global communities that use football as a symbol of hope and integration. Examples include the Financial Assistance Programme for every one of FIFA’s 209 member associations, and Football for Hope schemes across the globe. For more information, please visit our Sustainability section on FIFA.com.

In order to participate in Football for Hope, you need:

- to be a legal and registered entity with non-governmental status (NGO, CBO, charity, football association, etc.)
- to be politically and religiously independent and not-for-profit
- to be non-discriminatory in every way (social, ethnic, racial, religious, financial, gender-based,talent-based, etc.)
- to be direct implementers of ongoing, regular, well-established programmes that use football
- to address social issues and target children and youth
- to have experience of working in a given community or in similar communities
- to be financially sustainable and have a long-term approach
- to be unaffiliated to competitors of FIFA’s Commercial Affiliates

If you fulfil all of the above criteria, please send an e-mail to info@footballforhope.org to request an information package.

Please refer to our Unsolicited Submission Policy document on FIFA.com for more information.

One of the most important ways of raising the profile and popularity of football and helping to develop the game around the world is by staging international tournaments in as many different countries and regions as possible. This puts the spotlight on new nations, encourages investment in football in the host nation, helps to foster greater understanding between peoples, and inspires greater participation in the game. As the representative body of 209 national football associations, FIFA believes that it would be unfair for just one or two regions or a handful of nations to dominate the hosting of major international tournaments, as this would hinder the global growth of the game and create an unfair advantage in favour of those nations that already have highly developed sports industries.

As such, decision-makers from the global football community have strived to select a diverse as possible range of hosts for FIFA’s array of tournaments. The host of each FIFA World Cup is selected by representatives of the global football community from a range of potential candidates. It is not the individual choice of the FIFA President or the FIFA administration, but a collective decision made by a vote involving elected representatives from the global football community and based on individual assessments of the candidates’ bids. A shortlist for the host of the FIFA World Cup is drawn up through a vote by the FIFA Executive Committee – the global football community’s senior decision-making forum. This shortlist is then submitted to the FIFA Congress, where all 209 member associations are able to vote for their preferred host.

Hosts must show that they are able to deliver a successful tournament and meet a range of strict criteria, from stadium and environmental standards to legacy and security.

The economic impact of the FIFA World Cup on a host country is a hotly debated topic. While there is no overall consensus, the preparations for each tournament require substantial, long-term investments by FIFA, the government, and other stakeholders in the host’s economy and infrastructure, which live on beyond the competition. The impact varies from edition to edition and depends to a large extent on the host country and the way the event is organised. Staging the tournament entails transporting millions of people to the matches and Fan Fests, catering for their health and safety, dealing with waste from the stadiums, recruiting and training thousands of volunteers, providing an event that is accessible for everyone, and broadcasting the matches in over 200 countries and territories. This scale inevitably has an impact on society and the environment in the host country. As the organisers of this mega-event, we believe it is our responsibility to limit the negative impacts of the FIFA World Cup, while at the same time doing everything we can to maximise the positive impact it can have. For full details, please refer to our Sustainability Report on our website, FIFA.com.

Some of the positive impacts in Brazil included:

- The creation of one million jobs (source: FIPE/Brazilian Tourism Ministry) with an estimated injection of BRL 30 billion into the Brazilian economy

- The event generated close to BRL 500 million for 44,000 small Brazilian enterprises

The FIFA World Cup is the biggest single-sport competition in the world. Staging the tournament entails transporting millions of people to the matches and Fan Fests, catering for their health and safety, dealing with waste from the stadiums, recruiting and training thousands of volunteers, providing an event that is accessible for everyone, and broadcasting the matches in over 200 countries. This scale inevitably has an impact on society and the environment in the host country. As the organisers of this mega-event, we believe it is our responsibility to limit the associated negative impacts of the FIFA World Cup, while at the same time maximising the huge positive impact it can have.

Since the introduction of the third pillar of our mission in 2005, sustainability has gained an increasingly central role in FIFA’s operations, culminating in a first comprehensive sustainability strategy that we developed for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™. To find out more about the implementation of this strategy and how things are shaping up in this regard for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™ read our Sustainability Report or visit the Sustainability section on our website, FIFA.com.

Tickets for all FIFA matches are sold to fans directly and exclusively via FIFA.com. Any fans wishing to purchase tickets should visit FIFA.com regularly for updates, follow @FIFA.com on Twitter or register for the FIFA.com Club to receive the latest news on ticket sales.

About half of the world’s population around the globe tune in to enjoy the state-of-the-art broadcast production of the FIFA World Cup, whether it is via television, cinema, public viewing events, radio or multimedia platforms. FIFA’s TV Division works hard to deliver the highest quality production of matches so that fans everywhere can experience the very best coverage of the world’s biggest single-sport event. FIFA TV also works closely with hundreds of broadcasters to transmit all the drama and excitement of the FIFA World Cup to audiences in every individual territory, providing crucial income for the global development of football and uniting the world through the game.

For more information, please visit the TV section on FIFA.com.

You can register through the respective FIFA Tournaments section on FIFA.com. We recommend that you check regularly for updates.

Please contact:

CIES (International Centre for Sports Studies) Hotel DuPeyrou
Avenue DuPeyrou 1
CH-2000 Neuchâtel
Switzerland www.cies-uni.org / www.cies.ch

Only FIFA member associations and confederations can apply for FIFA projects or funds. Contact details for your national football association can be found in the FIFA Associations section on FIFA.com.

Information on our development courses can be found in the Development section of FIFA.com. However, please be aware that all our courses are conducted with the assistance of our member associations and the confederations. For registration, please contact your national football association.

Tickets for all FIFA matches are sold to fans directly and exclusively via FIFA.com. Any fans wishing to purchase tickets should visit FIFA.com regularly for updates, follow @FIFA.com on Twitter or register for the FIFA.com Club to receive the latest news on ticket sales.

The respective host football association manages tickets for friendlies and qualifiers. Contact details can be found in the FIFA Associations section on FIFA.com.

Sorry, attendance at the FIFA Ballon d’Or is by invitation only but keep an eye out for local promotional give-aways.

All of our courses are conducted with the assistance of our member associations and the confederations. For registration, please contact your national football association.

Information on how to become an intermediary (player’s agent) can be found in the FIFA Regulations on Working with Intermediaries. Please note, however, that the licensing structure is handled by the respective member association.

To apply to become a match agent, you must first receive written confirmation from your national football association (either where you live or have your headquarters). This must state two things:
a) that you (the candidate applying for the licence) has a good reputation;
b) that your national football association does not object to you acting as an agent to organise matches.
Once you have received this confirmation, you should send a written request to the FIFA general secretariat.

For all events other than the FIFA World Cup and the FIFA Confederations Cup

The player escort programme is managed by the Local Organising Committee of the relevant tournament. If you are interested in finding out how you or your child can be involved in a future FIFA tournament, please contact the relevant Local Organising Committee. 

For the FIFA World Cup and the FIFA Confederations Cup

The player escort programme for the FIFA World Cup and the FIFA Confederations Cup is managed by one of our World Cup Sponsors – McDonald’s. If you are interested in finding out how you or your child can be involved at the FIFA World Cup or the FIFA Confederations Cup, please contact your local McDonald’s office.

Please refer to our Electoral Regulations for the FIFA Presidency.

Please contact the Local Organising Committee of the tournament in which you are interested by checking the FIFA Tournaments section of FIFA.com.

The first step towards becoming a referee is to register with your national football association, and the second is to attend a basic refereeing course. Please contact your local refereeing coordinator, football club or football association, who will assist you accordingly.

You need to be a referee officiating regularly at the highest level of competition and have met the technical, fitness and medical requirements set by your national football association. Only then can your national football association nominate you for the FIFA Refereeing International Lists. The FIFA Referees Committee evaluates all nominees in October or November of every year, and the approved lists are published annually on FIFA.com by no later than 3 January.

FIFA’s development and financial support for its 209 member associations also extends to FIFA material, including refereeing equipment. Therefore, please contact your national association for such requests.

Vanishing spray can be purchased online at 915 FAIRPLAY.

FIFA’s Laws of the Game 2014/2015 can be found in the Official Documents section on FIFA.com.

You may reproduce or translate the Laws of the Game in whole or in part under the following conditions:

- Permission is restricted to the current version of the Laws of the Game
- Reference must be made to the source and copyright
- Mention must be made that all rights are reserved by FIFA
- Mention must be made that they are the official Laws of the Game passed by The International Football Association Board and published by FIFA
- The use of the reproduced text and imagery is solely editorial, and not commercial

FIFA continually reviews the game of football with a view to improving the universality and fairness of the sport. However, the only body able to decide on any change relating to the Laws of the Game is The International Football Association Board (The IFAB). For The IFAB to discuss your proposal, it has to be sent and approved by the football association in your country, and then submitted on your behalf.

If your question relating to the Laws of the Game is not listed in our FAQ section, please contact your national football association directly.

To apply to become a match agent, you must first receive written confirmation from your national football association (either where you live or have your headquarters). This must state two things:

a) that you (the candidate applying for the licence) has a good reputation;
b) that your national football association does not object to you acting as an agent to organise matches.

Once you have received this confirmation, you should send a written request to the FIFA general secretariat.

The Regulations on working with intermediaries can be found in the Laws and Regulations section on FIFA.com.

As a basic principle, our Legal Affairs Division is not in a position to reply via e-mail to queries that may have a legal impact. Such enquiries therefore need to be submitted either by fax or post (or by courier) and be signed by the sender.

FIFA
FIFA-Strasse 20
P.O. Box
8044 Zurich
Switzerland
Fax: +41 43 222 77 55

As a basic principle, our Players’ Status Department is not in a position to reply via e-mail to queries that may have a legal impact. Such enquiries therefore need to be submitted either by fax or post (or by courier) and be signed by the sender.

FIFA
FIFA-Strasse 20
P.O. Box
8044 Zurich
Switzerland Fax: +41 43 222 7878

This is most likely a fraudulent e-mail and a scam. Unfortunately it is an ongoing issue that we are unable to stop. We advise not to respond or to provide any personal information to the contacts listed in the e-mails/letters. We also suggest that you forward the e-mail to your local authorities for handling.

Our Official Marks (e.g. the FIFA logo, the Official Trophy of the FIFA World Cup, the Official Emblem and Official Mascot of the FIFA World Cup) are protected around the world by intellectual property laws.

In general, we can only authorise use of our Official Marks to our sponsors and licensees. We ask that this exclusivity of brand association with FIFA and its tournaments is respected. Third parties must avoid any activities that might create a commercial association and/or seek promotional exposure in connection with FIFA and its tournaments.

For further information and guidance, please refer to www.fifa.com/brandprotection and in particular the document entitled FIFA Public Guidelines for use of FIFA Official Marks. 

To submit a request to use FIFA’s Official Marks, please complete the Mark Request Form.

Please visit the EA Sports website for more information on buying coins and the only official source to obtain FIFA coins.

In general, third parties are allowed to use the text of any FIFA-produced articles/statistics that are available on FIFA.com for purely editorial, non-commercial purposes, provided that they clearly indicate the source of the material with the proper credit.

However, this does not apply to copyrighted materials such as images, logos, Reuters or any other non-FIFA.com labelled journalists and articles that you may find on our official website.

Similar to other organisations, FIFA must commission and acquire pictures for its website from various photographers and agencies. For that reason, our images are subject to copyright restrictions and we are therefore not permitted to provide images to third parties. Permission should therefore be sought from the individual photo agencies concerned.

Images that are the property of FIFA may also not be used for commercial purposes by third parties. Therefore, please contact our digital stock provider, Getty Images (www.gettyimages.co.uk).

The media rights in connection with the FIFA World Cup and all other FIFA events are subject to contractual agreement, and no unauthorised use of FIFA’s content is permitted.

We receive a significant number of similar requests every day, many more than we are able to accommodate. We are therefore regrettably unable to help with your request. For player autographs, please contact the respective football association or club.

FIFA pin badges are only available to FIFA employees or at FIFA tournaments or at the Home of FIFA in Zurich. More information and material regarding FIFA can be accessed online on our official website, www.FIFA.com.

FIFA’s development and financial support to its 209 member associations extends to FIFA material, including refereeing equipment. Therefore, please contact your national association directly with your request.

We already operate a number of our own initiatives aimed at directly benefitting local and global communities who use football as a symbol of hope and integration. As we receive a significant number of such requests every day, many more than we are able to accommodate, we are regrettably unable to help with your request. As you will understand, we are simply not in a position to choose or consider such offers at risk of being preferential, selective or biased.

All FIFA publications are available online in the Official Documents section on FIFA.com.

The FIFA Weekly is available every Friday both as a print edition and as an e-magazine. It offers fans a wide range of news stories from FIFA and across the world of football, including fascinating reports on the biggest stars, in-depth analysis, interviews, photos, commentaries, debates and much more. Visit the FIFA Weekly webpage for more information, including on how to subscribe to the FIFA Weekly app.

The FIFA.com Club is FIFA’s official online community and is open to all football fans everywhere. As a Club member you can interact with millions of fans from all over the world, share your views, enter contests, play games and win prizes. Club members receive exclusive offers from the FIFA.com store and also have the chance to apply for FIFA World Cup tickets. Register for the FIFA.com Club.

If you have any questions about using the site or are experiencing a technical problem on FIFA.com, simply check the “Technical problems on FIFA.com” box in the Contact FIFA section and we’ll try our best to help!

Log in to your Club account. Next, visit your Club overview page. Click on the “Edit My Profile” link in the top-right corner. You can subscribe or unsubscribe to the newsletter at any time simply by checking/unchecking the boxes listed under the Newsletter section on this page.

Please visit the MRL List on FIFA.com and check the territory from where you want to watch the match.

Please refer to our TV Audience Reports in the TV section of FIFA.com.

Sponsor – please contact sales@fifa.org
Licensee – please contact fifaretail@fifa.org

FIFA Partners have the right to associate themselves with all FIFA events throughout their agreement. There are different sponsors for different events, so please refer to the respective tournament in our FIFA Tournaments section on FIFA.com.

Yes, we do. Our sponsorship strategy is outlined in the Marketing/Sponsorship section of FIFA.com.

The media rights in connection with the FIFA World Cup and all other FIFA events are subject to contractual agreement, and no unauthorised use of FIFA’s content is permitted.

Information about FIFA’s archive video content and the procedure for obtaining the relevant authorisation to use it can be found at www.fifafilms.com.

As soon as we have confirmed who will hold the rights to create the official music of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™, you can contact them directly regarding your song. In the meantime, please keep checking FIFA.com for updates.

Perimeter board advertising (and all other advertising within official FIFA venues) is only available to the Commercial Affiliates of the relevant FIFA event.

You can request information not in the FAQ via the contact form.