FIFA

FDRATION INTERNATIONALE DE FOOTBALL ASSOCIATIO N

STATUTES
Regulations governing th e
Application of the Statute s
Standing Orders of th e
Congress

English Editio n
1992

FIFA
FDRATION INTERNATIONALE DE FOOTBALL ASSOCIATIO N

STATUTES
Regulations governing th e
Application of the Statute s
Standing Orders of th e
Congress

0
English Editio n
199 2

Index
Pag e
Statutes
Regulations governing th e
Application of the Statutes

3
31

Standing Orders of the Congress

41

This text was approved by the 1992 FIFA Congress in Zuric h

and shall apply as from 3 October 199 2

FDRATION INTERNATIONAL E
DE FOOTBALL ASSOCIATIO N
President:

Dr Joo Havelange (Brazil )

Genera/ Secretary:

Joseph S . Blatter (Switzerland )

Address :

FIFA House ,
Hitzigweg 11, 8030 Zurich, Switzerlan d
Telephone : 41-1 /384 95 9 5
Telefax :
41-1 /384 96 9 6
Telex :
817-240 fif ch

STATUTES OF FIFA
Interpretation claus e
In interpreting the Statutes and regulations of FIFA the word s
"'FIFA" or "Federation" means "Fdration Internationale de
Football Association " .
1
"An association" or "The associations" refer to the nationa l
associations, except where the context denotes a different mean ing .
"'League" means an internal organisation subordinated to a
national association .
"British associations" refer to the four associations of the United Kingdom, i .e . The Football Association, The Scottish Footbal l
Association, The Football Association of Wales, and the Irish Foot ball Association (Northern Ireland) .
a "International Board" or "the Board" refers to the Internationa l
Football Association Board .
a "Confederation" is a group of national associations affiliated t o
FIFA and belonging to the same continent (or assimilable geographic entity) .
7 The "Executive Committee" means the Executive Committe e
of FIFA as constituted in accordance with these Statutes .
o "Member " means a national association which is in membership with FIFA or a person who is a member of a committee of FIFA .
o "Officials" mean all board members, coaches, trainers an d
people responsible for technical, medical and adminstrative matters in a confederation, national association, league or club .
to The term " association football " refers to the game specificall y
controlled by the Federation and as regulated by the Laws of th e
Game .

Federation
Associatio n

Leagu e
Britis h
association s

I .ternati.. .1
F. A. Boa d
Can .
federatio n
Executive
committe e
Monibe r
officials

Associati. .
footbal l

1 . Title, constitution, headquarters

Art . 7
' The "Fdration Internationale de Football Association" is a n
association in accordance with Art . 60 ff of the Swiss Civil Code* .
a
FIFA shall consist of the national associations which are affiliated to it and recognised by it as controlling association football i n
their respective countries .
a Only one association shall be recognised in each country .
Each of the four British associations shall be recognised as a
member of FIFA .

Title and
constitution

Beadquarters

' A football association in a region which has not yet gaine d

independence may, with the authorisation of the national association of the country on which it is dependent, also ask to becom e
affiliated to FIFA .
6
The location of the FIFA headquarters shall be determined by a
resolution of the Congress . It shall be located in Zurich, Switzerlan d
and may only be transferred elsewhere if the Congress passes a
resolution to that effect (cf . Art . 15 4 (dl) .
Article ag of the swiss civa cod e

'Associations which have a political, religious, scientific, artistic, charitable, social or an y

other than an industrial object, acquire the status of a person as soon as they show by thei r
constitution their intention to have corporate existence.
'The constitution must be drawn up in writing and state the object, the capital and th e
organisation of the society .

II . Objects
Art . 2
Objects

The objects of the Federation are :

t to promote the game of association football in every way i t
deems fit ; .
z to foster friendly relations among national associations, confed erations and their officials and players by promoting the organisation of football matches at all levels and by supporting associ ation football by all other means which it deems appropriate ;
e to control every type of association football by taking steps a s
shall be deemed necessary or advisable to prevent infringement s
of the Statutes or regulations of FIFA or of the Laws of the Game a s
laid down by the International Football Association Board, to pre vent the introduction of other improper methods or practices in th e
game and to protect it from abuses ;
3 .1 there shall be no discrimination against a country or an individu al for reasons of race, religion or politics ;
3.2
a national association which tolerates, allows or organise s
competitions in which discrimination is practised orwhich is estab lished in a country where discrimination in sport is laid down by la w
shall not be admitted to FIFA or shall be expelled if it is already a
member . A national association, when applying to take part in a
competition, or deciding to organise one, shall give assurances to
the Federation that its provisions will be respected ; .
to provide, by means of statutory regulations, principles fo r
settling any differences that may arise between or among nationa l
associations .

III . Membershi p
Art . 3
' Associations shall beadmittedas members by the Congress only .
The Executive Committee or the Emergency Committee of th e
Federation (Art . 18 and 21) is empowered to grant provisional mem bership which shall be submitted to the next Congress for ratification .
Art. 4
' An association applying for membership shall address a written
request to this effect to the Federation .
2 The application for membership shall contain a declaration i n
which the applicant association undertakes :
(a) to conform at all times to the Statutes, regulations and deci sions of FIFA ;
(b) to observe the Laws of the Game in force with the Federation .
3 The applicant association shall enclose a copy of its own stat utes and regulations with its request . These statutes must, withou t
exception, contain a mandatory clause stipulating the restraints an d
obligations contained in Art . 57 of the FIFA Statutes .
4 The applicant association shall submit to FIFA a file containin g
details of its internal organisation and the sports infrastructur e
(facilities for playing football) in its country .
e
The Regulations governing the Application of the Statutes shall
determine the terms and conditions .
Art . 5
' During the Congress session at which its application for membership is to be decided, the applicant association in question may,
through its delegates, address the Congress in support of its appli cation . These delegates must, however, leave the conference hal l
whilst the application is being considered and voted upon . If th e
application is accepted, the delegates of the association which ha s
lust been granted membership shall immediately be allowed t o
take part in the remaining work of the Congress.
x An association which has been granted membership must pay
the annual subscription fee as laid down in Art . 45 of these Statutes
for the year of its admission .
3
Payment of the subscription fee must be made within 30 days of
acceptance of the association's membership by the Congress . Failing
this, the provisions of Art . 45 53 shall be applied mutatis mutandis .
Once an association has been accepted as a member, it shall b e
entitled to enter immediately for any of the competitions organise d
by FIFA, provided that the entry deadline has not passed .

Membershi p

Applicatio n
for membershi p

~ on

ons

Decision
regarding
applicatio n

conse,

of
s membership

Correspondense

Art . 6
Each association shall inform the Federation of the name an d
address of the person responsible for conducting, on its behalf ,
official correspondence both with FIFA and the other association s
on all matters including disputes among associations .
' The executive bodies of any association shall be appointed onl y
by means of election within the association .
' Each association shall send to the Federation and, upo n
request, to the other affiliated associations, its official hand book and all communications modifying its statutes and regulations .
'

Honorary
and Honorary
Member

Art. 7
The
Congress
may
grant
the title of Honorary President o r
'
Honorary Member to any person for meritorious services rendered
to the Federation .
' Nominations for such positions shall be made by the Executive
Committee .
' An Honorary President or an Honorary Member shall be permit ted to attend the Congress with the right to join in discussions, bu t
not to vote .
Art . 8

confederations

National associations affiliated to FIFA and geographically sit uated on the same continent may form confederations which wil l
be recognised by FIFA.
FIFA shall recognise the following confederations :
(a) Confdration Africaine de Football

(b) Asian Football Confederation

(c) Union of European Football Association s
(d) Confederacin Norte-Centroamericana y del Caribe de Ftbo l
(e) Confederacin Sudamericana de Ftbol .
' FIFA may, in exceptional circumstances, authorise a confederation to grant membership to a national association that belong s
geographically to another continent and is not affiliated to th e
confederation on that continent . The opinion of the confederatio n
concerned geographically is required .
' Oceania is regarded as an independent geographical entity . As
such, it is entitled to some of the rights conferred upon the confed erations. These rights shall be determined by the Executive Committee in accordance with its statutory powers .
'

" Each of the recognised confederations shall have the following

rights and duties :
(a) to comply with and enforce compliance with the FIFA Statutes ,
regulations and decisions ;
(b) to co-operatewith FIFA in all matters relating to the organisation o f
international competitions and football in general ;
(c) to organise its own inter-club competitions ;
(d) to organise its own international competitions, particularl y
youth competitions ;
(e) to ensure that international leagues or any other such combination of clubs or leagues shall not be formed without its consen t
and the approval of FIFA ;
(f) to assign to associations wishing to become members of FIFA ,
and upon the latter's recommendation, the status of associate
member for not more than two year s ' duration, which will give
such associations the right to participate in its competitions an d
discussions but not the right to vote ;
(g) to appoint, as the confederation ' s representatives, vice-presidents and members to the FIFA Executive Committee in conformity with Art . 18 of the FIFA Statutes ;
(h) to maintain good relations and co-operation with FIFA by appointing two members to serve on a consultative committe e
with an equal number of representatives from FIFA to deal wit h
matters of interest to the confederation and FIFA ;
(i) to ensure that the representatives it has appointed to the FIF A
bodies exercise this function with due respect and attention ;
(k) to appoint committees which will work in close co-operatio n
with the corresponding FIFA committees ;
(1) to grant permission in exceptional circumstances, and providin g
FIFA approves, to an association of another confederation (or it s
member clubs) or to an association which is not a member of a
confederation (or its member clubs) to take part in approve d
competitions which it organises ;

(m)generally to take all action it deems useful to encourage th e

development of association football on its continent (e .g . b y
organising courses, seminars, etc.) ;
(n) to constitute all the bodies necessary to fulfil the duties incumbent upon them ;
(o) to procure the funds required to fulfil its duties adequately .
5
The Executive Committee of FIFA may, in specific cases, dele gate some of its duties or powers to any confederation .
e The statutes and regulations of the confederations must b e
submitted to the Executive Committee of FIFA for approval .

Rights an d
duties

IV. Legislative, executive and administrative bodie s

Art . 9
Legislative,
executive
and adnninis .

boes

'

The Congress shall be the legislative body of FIFA and, as such,

the supreme authority.
2
The Executive Committee shall be the executive body of FIFA .
' The general secretariat shall bathe administrative body of FIFA .
The standing and ad hoc committees shall serve to assist th e
various bodies of FIFA in their respective duties . Their compositio n
and functions are stipulated in Art . 22 to 36 of these Statutes .
The Congress

Congres s The

Art . 1 0
' The Congress, the supreme body of FIFA, shall be held ever y
two years .
s The Executive Committee mayatanytime call an Extraordinar y
Congress of the Federation . At the written request of one-third o f
the affiliated national associations of the Federation, the Executiv e
Committee shall convene an Extraordinary Congress within thre e
months of receipt of such request .

Art. 1 1
Right to vote ' Each association shall have the right to one vote and be entitled
to be represented by a maximum of three delegates, all of who m
may take part in the debates .
The confederations shall be entitled to be represented by thre e
observers .
2
Delegates
The names of the delegates must be sent to the general secretariat before the opening of the Congress. The one having the righ t
to vote must be indicated . Should this delegate leave the conference hall at any time during the Congress, he shall be replaced b y
the representative next on the list of delegates drawn up by the
national association concerned .
' Only the delegates present and entitled to vote shall decide an y
questions put to the vote .
No delegate shall be allowed to represent more than one association .
' During their term of office, members of the Executive Commit tee shall not be eligible to act as delegates of their associations .
vole by
Voting by letter or proxy is not allowed.
ter
Delegates to the Congress must be "bona fide" members o f
the affiliated association they represent and be subjects of th e
country represented by that association .

a The Federation shall bear the costs of travel and accommodation for one delegate from each association taking part in the
Congress . The Executive Committee shall issue appropriate direc tives in this respect .
Art. 1 2
' The date and place of a Congress must be notified to affiliate d
associations by registered letter posted six months in advance .
2
The agenda, specifying the nature of the business to be trans acted, the report of the General Secretary, the balance sheet an d
the auditors' report must be sent to the associations by registere d
letter and posted two months before the date of the Congress .
s All proposals and questions to be submitted to the Congress b y
affiliated associations must be sent in writing to the FIFA secretar iat at least four months before the Congress . Only those proposal s
and questions sent in time and included in the agenda may b e
discussed at the Congress .
The Congress may, in emergencies, deal with matters submitted after the above closing date, provided an absolute majorit y
of the associations affiliated to FIFA (which have not forfeited thei r
right to vote for any reason at the time of the Congress) is presen t
and a majority of three-fourths of the votes recorded thus decides .
a
The place, date and agenda of an Extraordinary Congress mus t
be notified to the affiliated national associations at least two
months before it is due to take place .
6 The names of candidates for the presidency of the Federatio n
may be submitted by any member association and must reach th e
general secretariat of FIFA two months before the opening date of
the Congress . A retiring president shall be eligible for re-election .
The names of all candidates must be forwarded by the genera l
secretariat to all the national associations at least one month befor e
the Congress.

Art . 1 3
' The agenda of the Ordinary Congress shall include at least th e
following items :
(a) an address by the President
(b) appointment of five members to check the official minute s
(c) appointment of scrutineers
(d) formal approval of the minutes , of the preceding Congres s
(e) the report covering the period since the preceding Congres s
(f) submission of balance sheet, receipts and expenditure accoun t
(g) vote on the approval of the account s
(h) submission of the budget
(i) admission and/or resignation of national associations

Date an d
place of th e
Ordinary
Congres s

Proposals
and
question s

Extraordinary
Congres s

Candidate s
for
Presidency

Agenda o f
the Ordinary
Congress

Extraordinary
Congress

W consideration of proposals for alteration to the Statutes, Regulations governing the Application of the Statutes and Standin g
Orders of the Congress of FIF A
(1) questions from national associations and any other matters th e
Executive Committee wishes to propose . (Such questions shall be
submitted in writing in accordance with Art . 12 3 of the Statutes .)
(m)appointment of chartered accountants to examine and certif y
the accounts of the Federatio n
(n) election of the President (if necessary) and installation of th e
vice-presidents and members of the Executive Committee .
x
In the case of an Extraordinary Congress, the notice of th e
meeting shall include the agenda . No items other than those con-
tained in the agenda may be discussed .
Art . 1 4

Alterations to
the Statutes ,
regulations
and Standing
Orders

Elections
Other
decisions

Necessary
majorities

10

The Congress alone may alter the Statutes, the Regulation s

governing the Application of the Statutes and the Standing Order s
of the Congress of FIFA.
z A proposed alteration to the Statutes may be included in th e
agenda and put to the vote only if it has been submitted by on e
national association and seconded by two others or if proposed b y
the Executive Committee .
3
In order to be able to consider an amendment to the Statutes, a
Congress must be attended by an absolute majority of the FIFA
membe r ,associations, which at the time of the Congress have no t
forfeited their right to vote for any reason .
4 To be adopted, the amendment must receive the approval o f
three-fourths of the votes cast by the delegates present and entitled to vote .
5
An amendment to the Regulations governing the Application o f
the Statutes or the Standing Orders of the Congress may be proposed by one national association or by the Executive Committee .
s Proposals to amend the Regulations governing the Application
of the Statutes or the Standing Orders of the Congress shall b e
passed by a simple majority of votes cast by the delegates presen t
and entitled to vote .
Art . 1 5
' Voting for the elections shall be by secret ballot .
Other decisions, when voting is necessary, shall be taken by a
show of hands . If this method of voting does not result in a definit e
majority in favour of a proposal, the vote shall be taken by calling th e
roll, countries being called in English alphabetical order .
a
Forthe election of the President of the Federation, two-thirds of
the votes recorded in the first ballot are necessary . In a secon d
'

ballot and any subsequent ballots which may be necessary, a n

absolute majority of the votes recorded is required . From the secand ballot onwards, and if there are more than two candidates, th e
one obtaining the lowest number of votes will be eliminated afte r
each ballot until only two candidates remain in the running .
Other decisions shall be taken by a simple majority of the vote s
recorded with the exception of the following, which can only b e
taken if an absolute majority of the associations affiliated to FIFA
(which have not forfeited their right to vote for any reason at th e
time of the Congress) is present and a majority of three-fourths o f
the votes recorded is reached :
(a) amendments or additions to the Statutes (cf . Art. 14 4) ;
(b) additions to the Congress agenda (cf . Art . 12 4) ;
(c) expulsion of a member from the Federation (cf . Art . 59 2) ;
(d) change of the Federation ' s headquarters (cf . Art . 1 6) ;
(e) dissolution of the Federation .
Art . 1 6
' The General Secretary shall keep the official minutes of the
Congress.
s
The minutes shall be submitted forverification to five member s
specially appointed for this purpose by the Congress .
Art . 1 7
' Decisions taken at a Congress shall come into operation and
become binding on the Federation and affiliated associations three
months after the closing date of the Congress .
2
Decisions taken by the Congress to accept the affiliation of ne w
member national associations shall, however, come into force imme diately (cf . Art . 5) . In such a case the associations shall be entitled to
vote immediately upon formal acceptance of their candidature .
3
The Congress may, in emergencies, decide that decisions b e
enforced at a different date . In such cases, the decisions shal l
become operative at the date fixed by the Congress .

Minute s

Impleno r
deeiXns

Executive Committe e
Art. 1 8
' The Executive Committee of the Federation shall consist of :
1 president
8 vice-president s
12 members
Z
The President shall be elected by the associations represented
at the Congress and entitled to vote (Art . 15 3) .

constitutio n

Election o f
President

11

Appointment
of VicepmsidenM

and

members

Mandates

The vice-presidents and members of the Executive Committe e

shall be appointed by the confederations, except for the vice presidents representing the four British associations and the USSR, '
who shall be elected by the associations concerned . Each must be
a member of the national association at the time of his election . Th e
appointments shall be made in the following manner :
(a) Africa
vice-president (1) members (2 )
(b) North and Centra l
America and Caribbean vice-president (1) members (2 )
(c) South America
vice-president (1) members (2)
(d) Asia
vice-president (1) members (2)
(e) Europe
vice-president (2) members (4)
(f) the four Britis h
Associations
vice-president (1) member ( )
(g) USSR
vice-president (1) member ( )
The President and a vice-president may not belong to the sam e
national association .
5 No two nationals from the same country or two members of th e
same national association may be members of the Executive Com mittee simultaneously .
' The mandates for the President, the vice-presidents and th e
members are for a term of four years . They may be renewed .
In order to ensure continuity within the Executive Committee ,
no more than 10 new members may be installed simultaneously .
a If the President ceases to carry out or is prevented from per forming his duties, the senior vice-president shall undertake the m
until the next Congress at the latest . In such a case, the Congres s
shall elect a new President .
8 If other members of the Executive Committee relinquish thei r
duties, they shall be replaced immediately, for the remainder o f
their term of office, by the confederation or national association(s )
which appointed them .
Art . 1 9

Powers

Meetings

12

t The Executive Committee shall be the Federation's executive

body . It shall be empowered to take decisions on all matters whic h
are not exclusive to the Congress, with the exception of matter s
referred by these Statutes to other bodies .
z The Executive Committee shall, in principle, meet twice a year .
a At the request of eleven members of the Executive Committee,
the President must convene an extraordinary meeting .
Members of the Executive Committee shall leave the meeting if
a case which might involve sanctions against their national associ ations is being dealt with or if a decision is being taken concerning a

dispute in which their national associations are involved . Similarly ,

they shall abstain from voting when a decision is being taken t o
select the host for a FIFA competition if their national association i s
one of the candidates .
' The Executive Committee shall appoint the chairmen, deput y
chairmen and members of the standing committees (cf . Art . 22) .
6
The Executive Committee shall appoint the chairmen, deput y
chairmen and members of the Federation ' s judicial bodies .
t The Executive Committee shall, if need be, form standing or ad ho c
committees in addition to those mentioned under Art . 22 hereafter.
a The Executive Committee shall appoint the delegates from FI FA
to the International F. A . Board .
9
The Executive Committee shall appoint the General Secretar y
and, on his recommendation, approve the engagement of th e
permanent staff of the secretariat . The General Secretary shal l
attend the meetings of all the committees ex officio .
to The Executive Committee shall fix the venue and date of th e
next Congress.
" The Executive Committee shall determine the venue (cf. Art .
50 1) and the dates of the FIFA final competitions and the numbe r
of teams permitted to take part .
Art . 2 0
' The President shall represent the Federation legally.
z He shall preside atthe Congress, meetings of the Executive an d
Emergency Committees and committees of which he has bee n
elected chairman .
' The President shall have an ordinary vote and, when votes ar e
equal, shall have the casting vote .
a If the President is absent or unavailable, the senior vicepresident who is available shall automatically perform his duties .
a The provisions governing the business of the Congress shall be
* contained in the Standing Orders of the FIFA Congress .

Presiden t

Emergency Committe e
Art . 21
' An Emergency Committee of seven members shall be appointed by the Executive Committee to deal with all matters requiring
immediate decision between meetings of the Executive Committee . The Committee shall include the President, the chairman of th e
Finance Committee and one representative from each confederation chosen from the members of the Executive Committee .

Emergency
committe e

13

' The business shall be conducted normally at specially convene d

meetings . However, if in exceptional circumstances the Committee is unable to convene a meeting, decisions may be reached by
means of written communication, in which case the Executiv e
Committee shall be notified immediately .
Retiricmien '
All decisions taken by the Emergency Committee shall be implemented immediately and confirmed by the Executive Committee at its next meeting .
' If the President is unable to attend, the senior vice-presiden t
who is available shall deputise . The President shall have authority t o
appoint a substitute if one of the members is not available or if th e
national association of which he is a member is directly concerne d
in a case or dispute requiring urgent attention . The substitute must,
however, belong to the same confederation as that to which th e
unavailable or ineligible member belongs .

Standing committees
Art . 22
The standing committees shall be :
(a) Finance Committe e
(b) Organising Committee for the FIFA World Cu p
(c) Organising Committee for the Olympic Football Tournamen t
(d) Committee for FIFA Youth Competition s
(e) Committee for Five-a-side (Indoor) Footbal l
(f) Committee for Women's Footbal l
(g) Referees' Committe e
(h) Technical Committe e
(i) Sports Medical Committe e
(k) Players' Status Committee

(1) Committee for Legal Matters

(m)Committee for Security Matters and Fair Pla y
(n) Media Committee
(o) Protocol Committe e
Constimbl ' The chairman, deputy chairman and the members of eac h
standing committee shall be appointed for a term of office of fou r
years by the Executive Committee .
The chairman and deputy chairman of each standing committee
shall be chosen from among the members of the Executive Committee .
' Each chairman shall represent his committee, see that its business is properly conducted, fix the date of the meetings in conjunc standing
committees

14

'

tion with the General Secretary and report to the Executive Committee on its work.
4 Each committee may appoint a sub-committee (bureau) and ,
wherever necessary, an ad hoc committee for emergencies .
Art . 23
' The Finance Committee shall consist of a chairman, deputy
chairman and three members, each one of the five belonging to a
different confederation . They shall be chosen from among th e
members of the Executive Committee .
3 The duties of the Committee shall b e
(a) to control the financial administration of the Federation ;
(b) to advise the Executive Committee on the management o f
property ;
(c) to prepare the budget of the Executive Committee and to exam ine those of the various standing and ad hoc committees and t o
submit them for approval to the Executive Committee ;
(d) to supervise the financial accounts of the committees and t o
authorise the General Secretary to make the payments, afte r
verification .
Art. 24
' The Organising Committee forthe FIFA World Cup shall consist
of a chairman, deputy chairman and the number of members
deemed necessary . The chairman, deputy chairman and at least
two of the members shall be selected from among the members o f
the Executive Committee . The Committee shall, however, hav e
among its members :
(a) one member from each confederation ;
(b) one member from the national association which organised th e
last World Cup ;
(c) one member from the national association which has bee n
assigned to organise the next World Cup ;
(d) one member from the national association which has bee n
assigned to organise the subsequent World Cup.
The members mentioned under (b), (c) and (d) shall be appointed a t
the recommendation of the national associations concerned .
z The Committee shall be responsible for the organisation of th e
FIFA World Cup in accordance with the regulations governing the
competition .
The Committee shall be empowered to submit to the Executiv e
Committee proposals for amendments which it considers should
be made to the competition regulations .
3 The Committee shall be responsible for the production an d
publication of an official report on the FIFA World Cup .

Finance
Committe e

m t
rni

for the FIFA

world cup

15

Art . 2 5
Commne ' The Organising Committee for the Olympic Football Tournafortne
ment shall consist of a chairman, deputy chairman and the numbe r
Olympic
of members deemed necessary . It shall, however, have among it s
Football
Tournament
members :
(a) one member from each confederation ;
(b) one member from the national association which has been
assigned to organise the next Olympic Games . He shall be
appointed at the recommendation of the national association
concerned .
' The Committee shall be responsible for the organisation of th e
Olympic Football Tournament in accordance with the special regulations governing the competition and the Olympic Charter . The
Committee shall be empowered to submit to the Executive Committee proposals for amendments which it considers should b e
made to the tournament regulations .
s The Committee shall be responsible for the production an d
publication of an official report on the Olympic Football Tourna ment .
Art . 2 6
Committee
The Committee for FIFA Youth Competitions shall consist of a
for FIFA
Youth
chairman, a deputy chairman and the number of members deeme d
competitions
necessary . It shall, however, have among its members :
(a) one member from each confederation ;
(b) one member from each of the national associations which ha s
been assigned to organise one of the forthcoming FIFA youth
competitions . They shall be appointed after nomination by th e
national associations concerned .
The Committee shall be responsible for the organisation of :
(a) the World Youth Championshi p
(b) the U-17 World Championshi p
in accordance with the special regulations governing these compe titions .
The Committee shall be empowered to submit to the Executive
Committee proposals for amendments it considers should b e
made to the competition regulations .
a The Committee shall be responsible for the production an d
publication of an official report for each competition it organises .
Art. 2 7
Committee
for Fivea.
side Football

16

The Committee for Five-a-side Football (or Indoor Football an d

thus called hereafter) shall consist of achairman, a deputychairman
and the number of members deemed necessary .
2
Its duties shall be :
'

(a) to draw up the Laws of the Game for this type of football ;
(b) to approve the official translation of these Laws of the Game ;
(c) to make decisions regarding the application of the Laws of th e
Game ;
(d) to propose to the Executive Committee any measures deeme d
necessary to ensure the control of indoor football ;
(e) to deal with all matters involving indoor football ;
(f) to organise an indoor football world competition from time to
time ;
' The Committee shall be responsible for the production an d
publication of an official report for each competition it organises .

Art . 2 8
' The Committee for Women ' s Football shall consist of a chairman, deputy chairman and the number of members deemed necessary .
s Its duties shall be :
(a) to deal with all matters regarding women's football ;
(b) to propose to the Executive Committee any measures deeme d
necessary to promote the development of women ' s football ;
(c) to organise a women 's football world competition from time to
time .
s The Committee shall be responsible for the production an d
publication of an official report for each competition it organises .

Art . 2s
' The Referees' Committee shall consist of a chairman, deputy
chairman and the number of members deemed necessary, wit h
each confederation being represented .
2 Its duties shall be :
(a) to make decisions and interpretations regarding the applicatio n
of the Laws of the Game ;
(b) to approve the official translation of the Laws of the Game ;
(c) to propose to the Executive Committee the amendments to th e
Laws of the Game to be submitted to the International Footbal l
Association Board ;
(d) to compile a list of referees qualified to supervise internationa l
matches from among the nominations submitted by the nation al associations ;
(e) to appoint the referees for matches in competitions organise d
by FIFA or for any other matches or tournaments, wheneve r
requested to do so ;
(f) to establish uniformity in methods of refereeing and implementation of the Laws for world-wide use ;

,m itWe
Footbl i

Co rinm es '

17

(g) to draw up inspection standards for referees to be used equall y

by every national association ;
(h) to approve the editing of the section "Laws of the Game" i n
official FIFA publications ;
(i) to organise courses for international referees and referee instructors ;
(k) to draw up a list of instructors and lecturers capable of conduct ing courses for referees ;
(1) to prepare and produce useful didactic material on refereeing ;
(m)to ensure that each national association has a properly consti tuted Referees' Committee and ascertain that these commit tees function satisfactorily.
Art . 3 0
Tech.cai
Committee

Meari
Committee

18

The Technical Committee shall consist of a chairman, deputy

chairman and the number of members deemed necessary .
' Its duties shall be :
(a) to advance training methods ;
(b) to take all possible measures to improve the qualifications o f
coaches ;
(c) to resolve questions on the theory and practice of football ;
(d) to take all possible measures to promote familiarisation wit h
and experience in teaching football ;
(e) to organise courses and conferences for instructors, trainers ,
coaches and administrators in conjunction with national associ ations and confederations ;
(f) to compile material on teaching and coaching techniques for
players, trainers, coaches and referees ;
(g) to provide the assistance necessary for the production of didactic films ;
(h) to deal with all matters concerning the construction of installations and the availability of equipment to teach football ;
(i) to issue a memorandum from time to time regarding technica l
assistance and grants which have been given or are to be give n
towards any development project;
(k) to be responsible for editing the technical section of official FIF A
publications ;
(1) to recommend coaches, instructors ortrainers to national asso ciations and at the associations' request .
(m)to examine any problems concerning football pitches .
'

Art . 31
' The Sports Medical Committee shall consist of a chairman,
deputy chairman and the number of members deemed necessary ,
all of whom shall be very well versed in medicine .

Its duties shall be :

(a) toactasan advisory board forthe FIFA Executive Committee o n
every aspect of medicine, physiology and hygiene ;
(b) to develop and use scientific experience in the fields of physiology, medical supervision, training theories, psychology an d
hygiene ;
(c) to draw up a medical guide for use by coaches, players an d
referees ;
(d) to draw up a guide for players to improve their athletic ability ,
physical fitness and performance capacity ;
(e) to prepare memoranda for trainers and coaches on the physica l
preparation of football players ;
(f) to prepare memoranda on diet and nourishment for players ,
giving appropriate recommendations ;
(g) to prepare memoranda on general aspects of sports hygien e
and, in particular, the effects of certain substances on the bod y
(alcohol, nicotine, medicaments, drugs etc .) ;
(h) to issue instructions regarding medical facilities to be mad e
available at international matches and tournaments ;
(i) to investigate types of injuries suffered during football matche s
and to issue recommendations for improved prevention o r
treatment of such injuries ;
(k) to draw up regulations on doping control in FIFA competition s
for the Executive Committee and check regularly that they ar e
being observed .
Art . 3 2
' The Players' Status Committee shall consist of a chairman,
deputy chairman and the number of members deemed necessa rY
with each confederation being represented .
2
Its duties shall be :
(a) to examine general problems regarding the status of players ;
(b) to advise the Executive Committee on the interpretation of th e
FIFA Statutes and the regulations regarding the eligibility, statu s
or transfer of players ;
(c) to ensure that the definitions drawn up by FIFA regarding th e
status of players are observed ;
(d) to decide the status of players for the different competition s
organised at international level ;
(e) to investigate and decide upon disputed transfers submitted to
FIFA in compliance with the special provisions governing thi s
matter ; in this connection, the following sanctions may b e
directly imposed upon clubs, officials, members, coaches an d
players :

Players '

swa n

Committee

19

a cautio n
a censure
a fin e
a suspension .
s The Committee shall deal, in principle, only with cases submitted via the national associations .
Coaches shall be classified as players as far as status is con cerned .
e An appeal may be lodged with the Executive Committee agains t
any decision taken by the Committee as described under (d) and (e )
above .
Art. 33
Committee
for Legal
Matters

Committee
for Security
Matters and
Fair Play

20

'

The Committee for Legal Matters shall consist of a chairman ,

deputy chairman and the number of members deemed necessary ,
all of whom shall have legal qualifications .
z Its duties shall be :
(a) to take counsel, give advice and adopt a position on all cases ,
disputes or enquiries submitted to the Committee ;
(b) to follow the development of the Statutes and regulation s
which govern FIFA and propose to the Executive Committe e
any amendment which the Committee deems useful ;
(C) to check the statutes and regulations governing affiliated asso ciations, as the case may be, and to recommend that the Exec utive Committee intervene to bring about any desired amendments .
Art . 3 4
The Committee for Security Matters and Fair Play shall consis t
of a chairman, deputy chairman and the following members :
(a) the chairman of each of the organising committees of FIF A
competitions ;

(b) the president of each confederation ;

(c) the chairman of the Committee for Legal Matters ;
(d) the Press Officer of FIFA .
z Its duties shall be the following :
(a) to examine generally every aspect of security inside the stadi a
and in the immediate vicinity ;
(b) to investigate every possible way of improving security at foot ball matches ;
(c) to deal with every aspect of fair play in its widest sense ;
(d) to propose different kinds of campaigns designed to promot e
fair play, to ensure that they are realised and to follow up th e
results .
'

Art . 35
'TheMedia Committee shall consist ofachairman, deputychairman, the number of members deemed necessary, and the Press
Officer of FIFA. At the suggestion of the Committee, the Genera l
Secretary may convene co-opted members for special duties for a
limited period .
z Its duties shall be :
(a) to advise the general secretariat and FIFA committees on mat ters involving public relations and work with the news media ;
(b) to develop proposals regarding FIFA publications and, if need
be, assist in their conception and preparation ;
(c) to advise the respective organising committees regarding th e
conditions for the organisation of work by the media at FIF A
events ; to draw up the terms of reference ; to prepare and carr y
out the accreditation procedure for media representatives an d
to supervise the organisation of the media ;
(d) to work in conjunction with international organisations of th e
media .
Art . 3 6
' The Protocol Committee shall consist of a chairman, deputy
chairman and the number of members deemed necessary .
x Its duties shall be :
(a) to deal with all matters of protocol during FIFA competitions an d
conventions or other events in which FIFA is involved ;
(b) to draw up relevant proposals for the Executive Committee .

Media
committe e

Protoco

co

l mmit e e

Judicial bodies
Art . 3 7
The judicial bodies of FIFA in respect of competitions organised by
FIFA shall be :
(a) the Disciplinary Committee ;
(b) the Appeal Committee .

Jadiciai
bodies

Art . 3 8
' The Disciplinary Committee shall consist of a chairman, deputy
chairman and the number of members deemed necessary . The
chairman shall have legal qualifications .
2
The function of this body shall be governed by regulation s
drawn up by the Executive Committee, which will also elaborate a
list of disciplinary measures .

Disciplinar
y
committee

21

' The Disciplinary Committee may sanction national associations ,

clubs, officials, members, coaches or players for any breach of FIFA
Statutes, regulations and instructions, or any violation of decision s
reached by a body of FIFA, or for any action violating the spirit o r
letter of the Laws of the Game .
a The Disciplinary Committee shall base its decisions on the List of
Disciplinary Measures drawn up by the Executive Committee (cf. 2) .
e Disciplinary powers are, however, exclusively reserved to th e
other competent bodies of FIFA in respect of :
the status and transfer of players (cf . Art. 32 )
the suspension and expulsion of national associations (cf . Art .
42 and 59)

Art. 3 9
The Appeal Committee shall consist of a chairman, deput y
Committee '
chairman and the number of members deemed necessary . Th e
chairman shall have legal qualifications .
' It shall hear appeals lodged against decisions by the Disciplinary
Committee which are not irrevocable according to FIFA regulations .
' Decisions pronounced by the Appeal Committee shall be irrevocable and binding on all the parties concerned .
"The function of the Appeal Committee and the procedure to b e
followed shall be contained in special regulations drawn up by the
Executive Committee .

General secretaria t
Art . 40
5eC

anal

' The general secretariat of the Federation shall be a permanen t

administrative body.
' It may be called upon to carry out administrative, publicity an d
technical work .

Art . 41

General
Secretary

aesponsb
biftlas

22

' The General Secretaryshall be the chief executive of the perma nent secretariat of the Federation .
' He shall be appointed on the basis of an individual legal agree ment.
a
He shall be responsible for:
(a) managing and keeping the accounts of the Federation ;
(b) the execution of decisions taken by the Executive Committee ;
(c) the production of the minutes of the meetings of the Executiv e
Committee, the standing and ad hoc committees ;
(d) the correspondence of the Federation ;

(e) relations among the Federation and the confederations, nation al associations, organisations and committees ;
(f) the organisation of the general secretariat ;
(g) the appointment of the staff in the general secretariat .
V. Suspensions of national association s
Art. 4 2
' Only the Congress shall be competent to suspend a national
association . However, in emergencies, such a sanction may b e
imposed by the Executive Committee . The suspension may onl y
have effect until the next Congress at the latest and may then onl y
be prolonged by a decision taken by a three-fourths majority of th e
votes made at that Congress .
The provision contained in Art . 45 3 of these Statutes is no t
subject to the foregoing paragraph .
2 A national association that has been suspended shall forfeit it s
right to vote at the Congress until the sanction has been lifted .
Moreover, suspended national associations may not entertain footballing contacts with other members .
' National associations must take part in FIFA competitions .
National associations which do not participate in at leasttwo of an y
FIFA competitions for a period of two years running shall be sus pended from voting at the Congress until they have fullfilled thei r
obligations in this respect .

penalties

to

of right

VI . Finances
Art. 43
' The financial period of the Federation shall be four years and
shall begin on 1 January preceding the final round of each FIF A
World Cup .
2 Intermediate balance sheets shall be drawn up on 31 Decembe r
of every year .
Art . 4 4
' The Congress shall appoint a firm of chartered accountants to
examine the accounts of the Federation after the accounts hav e
been approved by the Finance Committee . The appointment shal l
be for four years .
1
The accountants ' reports shall be submitted to the Congress .
Art . 4 5
' Each national association shall pay a standard annual subscription . This shall be due on 1 January each year .

Financia l

Auditors

cnl ptio n
23

' The amount of the annual subscription shall be determined b y

the Congress every four years following the recommendation o f
the Executive Committee . It shall be the same for every nationa l
association .
3 An association which has not paid its subscription by 1 April i n
any year shall automatically be suspended, unless it produces a
valid reason which is acceptable to the Executive Committee . A s
soon as the subscription has been paid, the suspension shall b e
lifted .
Art . 4 6
Low

Minimum
contribution

concederations'rigma

For every internationalmatch includingfriendlymatches,tour naments and all the matches of the Olympic Football Tournament
played between two national " A " teams (cf . Art. 4 2 of the Regulations governing the Application of the Statutes) the association o f
the country in which the match is being played shall pay the Federation a share of the gross receipts from the match .
z The amount due and method of payment shall be laid down i n
the Regulations governing the Application of the Statutes of FIFA.
These regulations shall also prescribe the amount representing th e
minimum contribution due to FIFA from the proceeds of matche s
subjected to a levy .
' The confederations are authorised to levy share in addition t o
that demanded by FIFA. The amount and method of payment shal l
be regulated by their statutes, especially if the match in questio n
involves two national teams from different confederations.

VII . Television and radio transmission s

Television
and radio
transmissions

24

Art . 47
' FIFA, its member associations, confederations and clubs own
the exclusive rights to broadcasts and transmissions of events
coming under their respective jurisdiction via any audiovisual an d
sound broadcasting media whatsoeverwhether live, deferred o r
as excerpts .
' The Executive Committee shall decide on the use of the rights
in accordance with the exisiting statutes and regulations of th e
respective confederations .
a The provisions for implementation of this article are contained i n
special regulations drawn up by the Executive Committee, whic h
shall, in particular, settle the rights and obligations arising from th e
international use and broadcasting of televised pictures among th e
owners of the rights and other national associations .

VIII . Official languages

Art . 4 8
' The official languages of the Federation are English, French,
Spanish and German . English is the standard language for th e
minutes, official correspondence and communications .
' Each national association shall be responsible for its own trans lation .
' English, French, Spanish, German, Russian, Arabic and Portuguese are the official languages of the Congress . Translations shal l
be made by interpreters officially accredited by the Executive Com mittee . Delegates may address the Congress in their own lan guage, provided they arrange for their speeches to be translate d
into one of the seven aforementioned languages .
"The Congress may dispense with any one of these seven lan guages providing none of the delegates objects .
5
Official decisions of the Congress or the Executive Committee
and communications from the general secretariat shall be issued in
each of the four official languages .
a In the case of any divergence in the interpretation of the French,
Spanish or German translation of the Federatio n' s Statutes, regulations, decisions or communications, the English text shall b e
regarded as authoritative .

Official
language s

The
n
co

greee

officia l
decisions
and state.

men 's

Authoritativ e
text

IX. International competition s

Art . 49
' The organisation of international competitions among teams
representing national associations must be approved by the Executive Committee of the Federation .
' The organisation of such competitions, the rules of which mus t
be approved by the Federation, may be left to or delegated to th e
confederations . These rules must contain provisions regarding disciplinary action and the levy due to the Federation in accordanc e
with Art. 46 of these Statutes .
' International competitions among club teams and/or teams rep resenting leagues must be approved by the Executive Committe e
of the Federation, who may leave or delegate its responsibilities t o
the confederations . The latter shall be responsible for ensuring tha t
such competitions do not conflict with national competitions o f
affiliated associations.
' The authorisation of the Executive Committee of the Federatio n
is necessary for matches between representative teams of confed erations (such as selected teams, champion teams) and repre -

Organisatio n
international
competition s

25

sentative teams or club teams of another confederation . Suc h

matches may not assume the status of a competition or champion ship without special permission from the Executive Committee o f
the Federation .
e International matches organised between representativ e
teams of national associations must be notified to the secretariat of
the Federation, once the date has been fixed .
Art . 50
Final rounds
of the
Federation's
competitions

Prohibited
contacts

'

The venue of the final round of competitions organised by th e

Federation shall be designated by the Executive Committee so tha t
the contests shall not be staged on the same continent on two
successive occasions . Furthermore, the national associations selected must be in a position to guarantee that the competition wil l
be organised in accordance with the sports rules and financia l
regulations governing it.
' The regulations for the FIFA World Cup competitions mus t
provide for a certain amount of the entire gross receipts to b e
reserved for development purposes . They shall regulate the meth od of payment and allocation .
Art. 5 1
Affiliated associations and their clubs shall not be permitted t o
play matches or entertain other sports contacts with association s
which are not affiliated to FIFA or with clubs belonging to them ,
without the Federation's consent .
' Affiliated national associations and their clubs shall not be per mitted to play matches against teams consisting of players who d o
not belong to a club or league affiliated to a national association .
' National associations shall not be allowed to form groups with out special permission from the Federation .
MembersoftheFederationmaynotplaymatchesontheterritory of another national association without the consent of the latter .
'

Art . 52
Unauthorised
membershi p
prohibited

26

'Associations, leagues or clubs established within the territory o f

a national association affiliated to the Federation shall not be permitted to become members of another national association withou t
the approval of the Federation and the national association i n
whose territory they were founded .
2 Associations, leagues or clubs established within a territory o r
country where there is no association affiliated to the Federatio n
shall not be permitted to become members of a national association in another country without the consent of the Federation .

X. Suspensions and expulsion s

Art . 53

' Affiliated national associations shall recognise each other's suspensions and expulsions .
z The Federation is bound by this article .
9
Exceptions shall, however, be made in respect of
the special regulations governing the transfer of player s
a suspension or expulsion imposed bya national association o r
a confederation on a member of a committee or subcommitte e
of FIFA .
Art . 54
A national association which is involved in a dispute with the
confederation of which it is a member mayappeal at any time to the
Federation to intervene .

suspension s
an d
expulsion s

occurs
n

no

o atbnal
association
and a
canfederstion

XI . Players' statu s
Art. 5 5
' Players of national associations affiliated to the Federation shall
either be amateur or non-amateur .
1 The definitions and other provisions governing the status and
transfer of players shall be contained in special regulations draw n
up by the Executive Committee .

Players'
statu s

ecialions

XII . Laws of the Gam e

Art . 5 6
' Each member of the Federation shall play association football
according to the Laws of the Game laid down by the Internationa l
Football Association Board, which alone has full authority to alte r
them .
z The function of this Board is governed by special regulations .

the am e

Special

XIII . Dispute s
Art . 57
' National associations, clubs or club members shall not be permitted to refer disputes with the Federation or other associations,
clubs or club members to a court of law and they shall agree t o
submit each one of such disputes to an arbitration tribunal appoint ed by common consent .

setamant
ofdisputes
interdictio n

27

s The national associations must, in order to give effect to th e

aforegoing, insert a clause in their statutes by which their clubs an d
members shall not be permitted to take a dispute to courts of law
but shall be required to submit any disagreement to the jurisdictio n
of the association or to an arbitration tribunal .
a Even if the law of a country allows clubs or club members t o
contest at a civil court any decisions pronounced by sports bodies ,
clubs or club members shall refrain from doing so until all th e
possibilities of sports jurisdiction within, or under the responsibilit y
of, their national association have been exhausted . The nationa l
associations shall ensure, as fares they can competently do so, tha t
their clubs and club members observe this obligation and that they
are aware of the consequences of disregarding it (cf . 2 and 6) .
' In the event of disagreement between two or several association s
which are unable to agree on the composition of the arbitratio n
tribunal, the Executive Committee shall have the right to decide . This
decision shall be final and binding upon the associations concerned .
'
Imple.
National associations, clubs or club members shall adher e
meNa[iono f
strict)Yto the decisionstakenbY thecompetent bodies in respect o f
decisions
disputes in accordance with the terms of the foregoing paragraphs .
senctiens
'Any breach of the aforementioned provisions shall be sanctioned in accordance with the FIFA List of Disciplinary Measure s
(cf . Art . 38) . Any club which contravenes the terms outlined abov e
may be sanctioned by being suspended from all international activ ity (official competitions and friendly matches) in addition to receiv ing a ban on all international matches (involving national associations and clubs) played in its stadium .
Special ease ' Disputes regarding the transfer and eligibility of players shall b e
settled in accordance with the procedure laid down in Art . 32 o f
these Statutes .
XIV. Resignations
Art . 5 8
A national association wishing to resign from the Federatio n
must notify FIFA of such resignation by registered letter . Thi s
intimation of resignation shall, however, only be recognised if it is
confirmed by another registered letter within three months o f
receipt of the first . The association concerned shall continue to b e
considered as a member of FIFA until the second letter has bee n
received .
gCon
e- ' A national association whose intimation of resignation has bee n
accepted, shall lose its status as member and all the privilege s
conferred by the Federation .

Resignation '

28

' A request for resignation shall only be accepted when the

association has settled all its financial obligations towards the Federation and its members .

condifons

XV. Expulsion of national association s

Art . 5 9
' A national association may forfeit its membership with the
Federation :
(a) for non-payment of dues or other debts to FIFA ;
(b) for any serious infraction of the Statutes and regulations of th e
Federation ;
(c) for any grave dishonour to FIFA or any national associatio n
affiliated to FIFA ;
(d) by ceasing to have the real status of a national football association in its own country.
z The expulsion of a national association may only be decreed by
the Congress . For such a decision to be valid, the Congress must b e
attended by an absolute majority of the national associations affil iated to FIFA, which have not forfeited their right to vote for an y
reason at the time of the Congress, and the decision must b e
passed by a majority of three-fourths of the votes recorded .

Loss o f
m embershi p

XVI . Final provision s

Art . 6 0
' Any matters not provided for under these Statutes or cases of
force majeure shall be settled by the Executive Committee, whos e
decisions shall be final .
Decisions in matters of legislation shall not become operative
until they have been approved by the Congress .

tttl
rot
st"

o
observation

Art . 6 1
Every activity of the bodies and committees shall be subject t o
strict observation of the Statutes and regulations of the Federation .
Art . 62
In the event of the dissolution of the Federation, its funds shall
not be distributed . They shall be transferred to the supreme court o f
the country in which the headquarters are situated, which shall

Dissolutio n

29

invest them in gilt-edged securities until the re-establishment of th e

Federation .
Art. 63
These Statutes were adopted by the FIFA Congress in Rome o n
6 June 1990 and amended by the FIFA Congress in Zurich on 3 Jul y
1992 . They supersede those dated 28/29 September 1961 an d
come into force as laid down in Art . 17 .

Zurich, 3 July 199 2

ON BEHALF OF THE FIFA EXECUTIVE COMMITTE E

President :
Dr Joo Havelange

General Secretary :
Joseph S. Blatter

30

REGULATIONS GOVERNIN G
THE APPLICATION OF THE STATUTES
1 . Application for affiliation to FIFA
Art . 1
Any association wishing to become affiliated to FIFA shall apply
to the Fdration Internationale de Football Association . The Executive Committee of FIFA may grant provisional affiliation immedi ately .
Art . z
' The Executive Committee may, before granting provisional affiliation to the prospective association, request the confederation to
which the association geographically belongs to grant it the status
of associate member of that confederation for a period of tw o
years.
Once these two years have elapsed, the confederation concerne d
shall supply FIFA with a detailed report on the organisation of th e
association .
t
Based on this report and the documents mentioned in Art . 4 of
the FIFA Statutes, the FIFA Executive Committee shall decid e
whether to grant the association concerned provisional affiliation .

Applicatio n
foratfillatlo
provisionanl
affiliation

`ontsaeo
associat e
members

Art . 3
The subsequent FIFA Congress shall decide whether to gran t
definitive affiliation or not (cf. Art . 13 (i) of the FIFA Statutes) .
II . Definition, announcement and registration of matche s

Art . 4
' International football matches recognised by the Federation
shall be those between two national associations affiliated to th e
Federation and for which each association fields a representativ e
national team .
z An international "A" match shall be a match that has been
arranged between two national associations affiliated to the Feder ation and for which both associations field their first national repre sentative team .
3 The terms used to define a match shall be those recognised as
giving an appropriate political and geographical description of th e
countries or territories within the national associations whose

International
matches

International
A matche s

31

teams are involved in the match and over which countries o r

territories they have sole control and jurisdiction .
If a national association allows one of its leagues to choose a
team which bears the name of its country, the match shall b e
considered an international match as described in the aforementioned Q .
Art . 5
ms ' An nterclub match shall be a match played between two clubs .
Although the clubs may belong to different national associations ,
note
such a match shall not be recognised as an international match (cf .
Art . 4 1) .
Interleague
' An interleague match shall be a match played between tw o
matches
leagues . Although the leagues may belong to different nationa l
associations, such a match shall not be recognised as an interna tional match (cf . Art . 4 7), subject to the provision of Art . 4 4
above .

Art . 6
Every international "A" match (cf . Art . 4 2) including friendly
matches and those played in tournaments or in games comprisin g
football shall be made known to the Federatio n ' s general secretariat by the national associations organising them within 14 days o f
their being held. In any case, such notification must reach th e
Federation at least 48 hours before the planned date of the match .
Sanctions s Failure to give notification of a match within this prescribe d
period shall incur a fine of SFr. 1,000 to be paid to the Federation .
Failure to provide any notification whatsoever shall incur a fine o f
SFr. 2,000 . These fines shall be paid within 10 days of receipt of th e
Federation's decision .

International
"A" matches
-notification

'

Art . 7
International

The Secretary of the national association on whose territory th e

match is being played shall, within 14days of each international "A "
match, notify the Federation's general secretariat of the result o f
the match, the surnames and first name of the referee and lines men who officiated and the surnames, first names and status of th e
players and substitutes of each team, using the official form for thi s
purpose . This form shall be filled in completely and signed .
Sanctions ' If the aforementioned form is sent in belatedly, a fine of SFr . 10 0
shall be paid to the Federation . If the form is not sent in at all, th e
amount of the fine due shall be SFr . 1,000, payable within 10 days of

A meeport

32

receipt of the Federation's decision . In case of repeated dilatoriness the amount of the fine may be increased by the Executiv e
Committee .
Art. 8
t Every international "A" match (cf . Art . 4 2) shall be recorded
with its results on an official list kept up to date by the Federation .
2 Such a match shall, however, not be registered on the officia l
list of international matches involving two affiliated national associations if either of the associations so desires and informs th e
Federation and the other association to this effect at least 48 hour s
before the match takes place . The levy due to the Federation fo r
international " A " matches in virtue of Art. 4641 of the Fl FA Statute s
must still be paid in such a case.

Official list

III . Interclub and interleague matches

Art . 9
No interclub or interleague matches between teams from different national associations shall be played without the express
authorisation of the national associations concerned . The national
associations shall include a provision in their regulations stipulatin g
at what point of time the clubs are required to seek authorisation
and, in addition, the sanctionsto be imposed if this rule is breached .
2 A club with headquarters near a frontier shall be permitted t o
play another club located near the frontier of the adjoining country i f
notice of 24 hours has been given to the two national association s
concerned .
a A national association shall inform the national association s
concerned of every match which it knows has been arranged an d
played in their area of jurisdiction and for which permission wa s
either not sought or given .
4 Scratch teams consisting of players not belonging to the sam e
club or association shall not be permitted to play clubs or team s
representing associations unless approval has been granted by th e
national associations concerned, by the Federation and by th e
opposing team .

intemlub and
intedeague
nawhes authorisation

IV. Tournament s
Art . 1 0
All tournaments involving more than two local or national teams
(clubs or representative teams) which belong to different national
associations must be approved by the Federation .

Toumamem s
as

00

0m

33

Sanctions

The request for approval shall be submitted by the national

association in whose country the tournament is planned at leas t
two months before the earliest of the planned dates.
3 The request for approval shall be accompanied by a list of th e
teams who are planning to take part in the tournament and th e
tournament regulations drawn up by the organising body .
4 If a tournament is played on the territory of a national association without prior permission, the national association in questio n
shall be fined an amount of at least SFr. 3,000 by the Federation an d
may be subject to more serious sanctions in the event of anothe r
type of violation (such as the participation of a team from a nationa l
association which has been suspended) .

V. Financial arrangement s
Art . 1 1
The levy to be paid to the Federation for each match playe d
between two national'A'teams (cf. Art. 46 1 of the FIFA Statutes) ,
including the matches played in tournaments or in games compris ing football (except forjunior tournaments) shall amount to 2% (tw o
per cent) .
z The amount shall be based on the gross receipts (ticket sales ,
advertising rights, rights for television and radio broadcasts, an d
film and video rights etc .) derived from matches subject to levies .
3 The only deductions that shall be made from the gross incom e
are state or local taxes actually paid (but not bank charges o r
differences in exchange rates) and any charges for the hire of th e
stadium .
The amount of deductions shall not exceed 30% of the entire gros s
income .

' National associations affiliated to a recognised confederatio n

are governed by the provisions of 1 of this article subject to th e
following conditions :
(a) the levy due to the Federation in respect of matches played o n
the territory of a confederation between national association s
belonging to that confederation is only 1 %, the remaining 1 %
being payable directly to the confederation involved ;
(b) the 2% levy due in respect of matches played between nationa l
associations affiliated to different confederations, on the territo ry of one of these confederations, is payable to the Federation ,
which will retrocede 'h% to each of the confederations involved .

Levy '

caic.narnn

Deductions

confodorethane

34

Art. 1 2
' For each match subject to a levy a detailed statement of account
shall be drawn up by the national association of the country in whic h
the match has been played .
2
This statement shall contain all the requisite figures reflectin g
the entire income and anytaxes or charges deducted therefrom (cf .
Art . 11 3) .
a The statement of account and the amount due from the levy
shall be sent to the Federation within 60 days of the date the matc h
was held .
4
Failure to conform with these requirements shall be punished
with one of the sanctions provided for under Art . 42 of the FIFA
Statutes .

astattement of
oun t

paymen t
sanction s

Art . 1 3
Whatever the financial outcome of the match, the minimum
contribution to be paid to FIFA is SFr . 500 (cf . Art . 46 2 of the FIFA
Statutes) .

Minimu m
contributio n

VI . Special provision s
Art. 1 4
A club affiliated to one of the Federatio n ' s associations may not
be a source of profit for its officials or for those who have lent fund s
to it, whatever the status of its players .
Art. 1 5
Any person receiving remuneration in virtue of a contract from a
national association or one of its clubs shall not be entitled to accep t
work in return for remuneration with another association at th e
same time .

VII . Match agents and players ' agent s

Art . 1 6
' The employment of agents or intermediaries in the arrangement of matches shall be permitted .
x Agents or intermediaries who arrange matches between team s
from the same confederation must be officially recognised by th e
confederation in question .
3 Agents or intermediaries who arrange matches between teams
belonging to different confederations must possess an agent' s
licence issued by FIFA . The FIFA Executive Committee shall dra w

Match

peda l s
regulation

35

up regulations governing the award of this licence and the concom itant rights and responsibilities .
' FIFA shall be entitled to intervene to enforce the agreement s
concluded between agents or intermediaries and teams with whic h
they are contractually bound only in the following cases :
(a) if the match or tournament at the source of the dispute involve s
teams from different confederations ;
(b) if the agent or intermediary in question holds a FIFA licence.
Art. 1 7
Players'
agents

The use of agents or other intermediaries in the transfer o f

players is prohibited .
' The Executive Committee shall, however, if it deems necessary, draw up stringent regulations authorising the licensing o f
players ' agents under certain conditions .
'

VIII . Nationality of player s

Eligibility for
nationa l
teams

Art . 1 8
Any player who is a naturalised citizen of a country in virtue o f
that country 's laws shall be eligible to play for a national or representative team of that country .
z If a player has been included in a national or representative tea m
of a country for which he is eligible to play pursuant to 1, he shal l
not be permitted to take part in an international match for another
country .
' The only players exempt from this provision are those whos e
nationality has been changed not voluntarily but as the result of a n
international decree either granting independence to a region o r
ceding part of one country to another.
'

IX . Suspended players and disciplinary measures within the

competence of the national association s
Art . 1 9
' Any disciplinary measures required as a result of incidents tha t
have occurred at international friendly matches, internationa l
friendly tournaments and interclub friendly matches (cf . Art . 4, 5
and 20 to 22) shall come under the jurisdiction of the nationa l
association to which the player, the official or the club to be sanctioned belongs .
' National associations shall apply the List of Disciplinary Mea sures drawn up by the Executive Committee (cf . Art. 38 2 of th e
Statutes) and comply with Art . 20 to 22 below.
36

The following cases shall be exempt from the foregoing clauses :

serious infringements, inwhich case theFIFA Disciplinary Committee shall be entitled to intervene on its own initiative ;
cases whereby a national association expressly requests th e
FIFA Disciplinary Committee to intervene.
The following sanctions shall be final in respect of every decision passed in accordance with the terms of this article :
(a) cautions and censures imposed on players, officials or clubs ;
(b) the suspension (up to three matches) of players or disqual ification (up to three months) of officials or clubs ;
(c) fines imposed on players and officials (for amounts up to SFr .

10,000) or clubs (for amounts up to SFr . 30,000) .

Art . 20
' Aplayerwho has been sentoff duringan international match(cf .
Art . 4 t) shall remain automatically suspended from all future
matches until either the national association to whom the player
belongs or, in the case of a tournament, the appropriate Disciplinar y
Committee, if existent, has imposed the necessary sanctions .
z A Disciplinary Committee which is operative during a tourna ment shall only be entitled to prohibits playerwho has been sent of f
from playing in the matches in that tournament . If more severe
sanctions are necessary, they shall be imposed by the nationa l
association to which the player belongs .
s If any disciplinary measures (expulsions, cautions etc .) hav e
been imposed by a referee during an international match (cf . Art . 4
1), the national association under whose jurisdiction the matc h
was played shall send a copy of the refere e ' s report (cf . Art. 24 1 )
to the national association of the offending player . The latter nation al association shall inform both the national association unde r
whose jurisdiction the match was played and the FIFA genera l
secretariat what measures have been taken against the playe r
concerned .
Any disciplinary measures that need to be taken with regard t o
expulsions or cautions imposed during international matches orga nised by FIFA are solely within the competence of the Federation .
Art . 2 1
' If an expulsion has been imposed by a referee during an interclub match (cf. Art . 5) involving clubs from different national
associations, the association in whose country the match was
played shall inform the other association immediately of the expulsion .

Dissccip 'lmeas
o
international
matche s

Dlsciplm w
ne .s resat
leml. b
matches

37

z The national association to whom the offending player belong s

shall subsequently inform the association which notified it of th e
expulsion of the measures it has taken againstthe offending player .
Art. 2 2
A.

eeri1tn

fe
senerene

A player whom the referee has declared guilty of assault on hi m

during or immediately after a match shall automatically be suspended until the first disciplinary body has decided upon appropriat e
sanctions .
2
In this connection, spitting at the referee is regarded as an assault .
s These provisions apply both to international matches and t o
matches in competitions organised by national associations .

'

X. Laws of the Gam e

Art . 23
the Ua sof
amendments

mena Pen

Referee 's

' The Federation shall inform the national associations of th e

amendments and decisions made by the International F . A. Boar d
(cf. Art . 56 1 of the FIFA Statutes) with respect to the Laws of th e
Game within one month of the Board's annual meeting .
The national associations shall be obliged to enforce thes e
amendments and decisions at the latest by 25 July afterthe Board' s
annual meeting . Exceptions may, however, be made by nationa l
associations whose football season is still in progress at the time o f
receipt of the notification .
s The national associations shall be entitled to apply the amend ments and decisions as soon as they have been issued by th e
International Board .
XI . Referee s

Art . 24
Each referee of an international match (cf . Art . 4 t) shall belon g
toa neutral national association unless otherwise previously agree d
by the national associations concerned .
2
The referee chosen to officiate at an international match shall b e
a member of the official FIFA List of International Referees .
'

Art . 2 5
Referee 's
report

38

' The referee of every international "A" match shall send a report
within 48 hours of the match both to FIFA and the national associ ation on whose territory the match was played .
2
This report shall be made on the official form given to th e
referee by the national association under whose jurisdiction th e
match was played .

3 The report shall record all the disciplinary measures taken an d

the reasons for these measures .
Art. 2 6
' Referees at international matches (cf . Art . 4 1) shall be entitled to :
(a) a daily allowance
(b) reimbursement of travel expenses .
The Federation's expense regulations shall determine th e
amounts, travel category and number of days due for reimburse ment to which the referees are entitled .
2 The amount owing to the referees shall be paid to them in easil y
convertible currency on the same day as the match by the nationa l
association which has organised the match .
a
The expenses for hotel and board incurred by referees of international matches shall be settled by the national associatio n
organising the match .
Art . 2 7
The Executive Committee shall, in conjunction with the FIFA
Referees' Committee, define the regulations governing the List o f
International Referees of FIFA .

Reimbse
ment of
expenses

Regulations

XII . Matters not provided for

Art . 28
Any matters not provided for in these Regulations shall be decid ed by the Executive Committee .

XIII. Final provision s

Art . 2 9
These Regulations were adopted by the FIFA Congress in Rom e
on 6 June 1990 and amended by the FIFA Congress in Zurich o n
3July 1992 . They supersede those dated 14/15 November 195 3
and come into force as laid down in Art . 17 of the Statutes .

Zurich, 3 July 199 2

ON BEHALF OF THE FIFA EXECUTIVE COMMITTE E
President :
DrJoo Havelange

General Secretary :
Joseph S. Blatter
39

STANDING ORDER S
OF THE FIFA CONGRESS

Art . 1
t The President of FIFA shall take the chair at the Congress or, i f
he is not available, one of the vice-presidents, in order of seniority o f
appointment .
z The President shall ensure the strict application of these Standing Orders . He shall open and adjourn the sessions and debates ,
unless the Congress decides otherwise, give permission to spea k
and conduct the proceedings.
' He shall maintain order at the Congress and may propose penal ties against those members who interfere with the proper procedure of the discussions or are guilty of misconduct towards othe r
participants at the Congress. The penalties shall be :
(a) a call to order ;
(b) a censure ;
(c) exclusion from one or more sessions .
' In the case of an appeal, the Congress shall decide immediatel y
and without debate .
Art . 2
The General Secretary shall be responsible for the minutes .
Art . 3
At the beginning of the first session, the Congress shall appoint
an adequate number of scrutineers to count the votes given for an d
against whenever a vote is taken and to assist the General Secretary in distributing and counting voting papers issued for the elections .

Cheirmenshi p

ourses

Minutes

scrutineers

Art . 4
Official interpreters shall be appointed to make translations into
the official languages of the Congress .

Interpreters

Art . 5
The General Secretary shall be responsible for a correct record o f
the debates .
41

Order of
proceedings

Art. s
Each discussion shall be opened by a statement :
a) bythe President or by the member designated bythe Executiv e
Committee for this purpose ;
b) by the representative of a Committee specially appointed t o
make a report ;
C) by the representative of the association responsible for th e
inclusion of an item in the agenda .
' The general discussion shall then be open .
'

Art . 7
Speakers

t The right to speak shall be granted in the order in which it is

requested . No speaker shall star speaking before he has obtaine d
permission to do so . Speakers shall speak from the rostrum reserved for this purpose .
' A speakercannot obtain permission to speak a second time if a
member who has not yet spoken requests permission .

t Art . s
Proposals ' All proposals shall be submitted in writing . Proposals which are
not relevant to the subject under discussion shall be withdrawn
from the debate .
Amend.
z Any amendment shall be drawn up in writing and passed to th e
monts
chairman before being put to the debate .
Art . 9
Motion for
adjournment

Closing of
discussions

' If a motion for adjournment is proposed, discussion on the mai n

question shall be suspended until a vote has been taken on th e
motion .
' If a proposal is made to close the discussion, it shall immediate ly be put to the vote without debate . If the motion is approved ,
permission to speak shall, however, only be granted to those
members who have requested the right to speak before the vot e
was taken .
' As a general rule, the chairman shall close the discussion unles s
the Congress decides otherwise by a simple majority of thos e
voting .

Art . 1 0
Voting

42

'

No vote can be taken by secret ballot .

' Voting can be taken by roll call, provided a request to this effec t
is supported by at least 15 of the associations present and entitle d
to vote .

a No-one shall be compelled to vote .

4 The vote shall be taken by a show of hands (voting cards) .
5 Before each vote, the chairman, or the person designated b y
him, shall read the text of the proposal aloud and explain th e
method of voting (quorum) to the Congress . If an objection i s
raised, the Congress shall decide immediately .
6 Proposals shall be put to the vote in the order in which they ar e
submitted . If there are more than two main proposals, they shall b e
put to the vote in succession and no member of the Congress ma y
vote for more than one of the proposals .
' Amendments to amendments shall be put to the vote befor e
the amendments, and amendments before the main proposal .
a Proposals which are not contested shall be considered a s
passed .
a The chairman shall verify the results of the voting and announc e
them to the Congress .
10 No-one may obtain permission to speak during voting until th e
result has been announced by the chairman .
Art . 1 1
' All elections shall be carried out by secret ballot, by means of
ballot papers . The distribution and count of the ballot papers shall b e
conducted by the General Secretary assisted by scrutineers .
z The number of ballot papers issued shall be announced by th e
chairman of the session before the count .
a If the number of ballot papers returned is equal to or less tha n
that of the ballot papers issued, the vote shall be valid . If the numbe r
exceeds that of the ballot papers issued, the vote shall be declare d
null and void and another vote shall be taken.
4 The absolute majority is based on the number of valid ballo t
papers returned . Blank or cancelled papers shall not be included i n
the count . If two or more votes are given in support of one candidate on one ballot paper, only one vote shall be valid .
5 The'chairman shall announce the result of each vote to th e
Congress .
0
The ballot papers returned shall be retained until the last coun t
has been verified and then immediately afterwards destroyed .

EiaQiona

43

Art. 1 2
These Standing Orders of the FIFA Congress were adopted b y
the FIFA Congress in Rome on 6 June 1990 . They supersede those
dated 14/15 November 1953 and come into force as laid down i n
Art . 17 of the Statutes .

Rome, 6 June 199 0

ON BEHALF OF THE FIFA EXECUTIVE COMMITTE E

President :
DrJoo Havelange

General Secretary :
Joseph S. Blatter

44

Mzwooaezs e