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Did you know …

that FIFA has 208 football association members?

What is IFAB?

IFAB is an acronym for the International Football Association Board. Established in England in 1886, the board was originally made up of the United Kingdom’s four pioneering football associations: England’s Football Association (The FA), the Scottish Football Association (SFA), the Football Association of Wales (FAW), and Northern Ireland’s Irish Football Association (IFA). Its aim was to create a unified set of rules for the game in Great Britain and function as a governing body. Each of the four founding FAs had equal voting rights on the board. Beginning in 1913, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), which governs world association soccer, became a voting board member. Today, each UK association has one vote on the board and FIFA has four. IFAB deliberations must be approved by at least six votes. Thus, FIFA’s approval is necessary for any IFAB decision, but FIFA alone cannot change the Laws of the Game; they need to be agreed by at least two of the UK members.