A private Swiss association with 211 members, billions in broadcast income, a criminal record among its former officials — and not a single seat for the people who fill the stands.
None of this is secret. It is court record, published indictment, and FIFA's own ethics rulings.
Seven European associations create the Fédération Internationale de Football Association to govern international matches. It is a small, member-led body with almost no money.
João Havelange wins the presidency by courting African and Asian associations. He turns FIFA into a commercial machine, tying it to sponsors and the ISL marketing agency.
Blatter succeeds Havelange amid immediate allegations of vote buying. Development grants to member associations become a lever of political control.
FIFA's marketing partner goes bankrupt owing hundreds of millions. Swiss investigations later confirm ISL paid bribes to senior football officials, including Havelange.
Russia and Qatar are awarded the tournaments in a single day of voting. Multiple executive committee members who voted are later banned, prosecuted, or implicated in bribery.
US and Swiss authorities arrest FIFA officials at a Zurich hotel. The DOJ indictment describes decades of racketeering, wire fraud, and money laundering worth over $150m in bribes.
Blatter resigns and is banned from football over a disloyal payment of CHF 2m to UEFA president Michel Platini. Both deny wrongdoing; both lose their positions.
Infantino promises reform: term limits, salary disclosure, an independent governance committee. Within two years several of the reform-body chairs are removed.
The heads of FIFA's ethics investigatory and adjudicatory chambers, Cornel Borbély and Hans-Joachim Eckert, are replaced without warning while hundreds of cases are open.
The Qatar World Cup goes ahead after years of reporting on migrant worker deaths, wage theft, and the kafala system. FIFA resists a dedicated compensation fund.
A 48-team World Cup and an expanded Club World Cup add fixtures and revenue, over the objections of players' unions, leagues, and supporter groups.
211 member associations, one vote each. Malta has the same voting weight as Brazil. In practice, presidents court blocs of small associations with development funding, which makes the electorate cheap to influence and hard to hold accountable.
Successor to the notorious Executive Committee: 37 members drawn from the six confederations. It sets strategy between congresses. Many of the officials indicted in 2015 sat on its predecessor.
Elected by Congress for four-year terms. Controls the agenda, patronage, and the administration. Term limits exist on paper but the counting of terms has been repeatedly reinterpreted.
UEFA, CONMEBOL, CONCACAF, CAF, AFC and OFC distribute FIFA money and nominate Council members. Several have had their own presidents banned or convicted.
Roughly $7–11bn per four-year World Cup cycle, overwhelmingly from broadcast and sponsorship rights. A large slice returns to member associations as grants — money that also buys loyalty at election time.
FIFA is a private association registered under Swiss law. Its ethics and audit bodies are appointed by the same structures they scrutinise. There is no fan seat, no player seat, and no external regulator.
Formally, the 211 associations control FIFA. Practically, control sits with whoever funds those associations and whoever buys the rights. Supporters and players — the entire product — sit outside the structure altogether.
Hold the votes. Most depend financially on FIFA grants.
Sets the calendar, competitions, and hosting decisions.
Fund the majority of revenue and shape kick-off times and formats.
Buy association with the game; historically slow to demand reform.
Provide stadiums, tax exemptions, and legal carve-outs.
Generate every pound of value. Hold no formal vote at all.
Numbers are the only leverage supporters have that money cannot buy. A charter with millions of names behind it is a mandate that associations must answer to.
Your national FA holds a vote at Congress. Ask publicly how it voted, who represents you, and what it received in FIFA funding. Local pressure is the only route to the ballot.