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Worldwide governing bodies of association football From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The following article gives a list of association football confederations, sub-confederations and associations around the world. The sport's international governing body is FIFA, but those associations not affiliated with FIFA are also included in this article.
This article needs additional citations for verification. (February 2023) |
Most European, African, and Asian countries have two principal competitions: a more prestigious league which is typically a double round-robin tournament restricted to the elite clubs, and a cup which is a single-elimination tournament open to both the elite and lesser clubs.
In the Americas, leagues are often organised as either multi-stage tournaments or separate Apertura and Clausura stages.
There are currently 211 national associations which are members of FIFA. An additional 11 associations are full or associate members of a continental confederation, but not members of FIFA.
Continent | Governing body | Abbr. | No. | FIFA members | Main international competition(s) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Club competition(s) | National competition(s) | |||||
Africa | Confederation of African Football | CAF | 56 | 54 | Champions League | Africa Cup of Nations |
Confederation Cup | Nations Championship | |||||
Super Cup | — | |||||
Asia | Asian Football Confederation | AFC | 47 | 46 | Champions League Elite | Asian Cup |
Champions League Two | — | |||||
Challenge League | — | |||||
Europe | Union of European Football Associations | UEFA | 55 | 55 | Champions League | European Championship |
Europa League | Nations League | |||||
Conference League | Regions' Cup | |||||
Super Cup | — | |||||
North, Central America and the Caribbean |
Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football | CONCACAF | 41 | 35 | Champions Cup | Gold Cup |
Nations League | ||||||
Oceania | Oceania Football Confederation | OFC | 13 | 11 | Champions League | Nations Cup |
South America | Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol | CONMEBOL | 10 | 10 | Copa Libertadores | Copa América |
Copa Sudamericana | ||||||
Recopa Sudamericana |
Governing body | Full name | Member associations | Main international competition(s) |
---|---|---|---|
ConIFA | Confederation of Independent Football Associations | 54 | CONIFA World Football Cup |
IGA | International Island Games Association | 24 | Island Games |
Subregion | Governing body | Abbr. | No. | Main international competition(s) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Club competition(s) | National competition(s) | ||||
Eastern Africa | Council for East and Central Africa Football Associations | CECAFA | 12 | CECAFA Club Cup | CECAFA Cup |
Middle Africa | Central African Football Federations' Union | UNIFFAC | 8 | — | CEMAC Cup |
Northern Africa | Union of North African Football | UNAF | 5 | UNAF Nessma Cup | — |
Southern Africa | Council of Southern Africa Football Associations | COSAFA | 14 | — | COSAFA Senior Challenge Cup |
Western Africa | West African Football Union | WAFU-UFOA | 16 | West African Club Championship | WAFU Nations Cup |
Arab States | Union of Arab Football Associations | UAFA | 10 | Arab Club Champions Cup | FIFA Arab Cup |
Subregion | Governing body | Abbr. | No. | Main international competition(s) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Club competition(s) | National competition(s) | ||||
Central Asia | Central Asian Football Association | CAFA | 6 | — | CAFA Championship |
Eastern Asia | East Asian Football Federation | EAFF | 10 | — | EAFF E-1 Football Championship |
South-eastern Asia | ASEAN Football Federation | AFF | 12 | ASEAN Club Championship Mekong Club Championship for Mekong clubs AFF Futsal Club Championship for futsal. |
ASEAN Football Championship |
Southern Asia | South Asian Football Federation | SAFF | 7 | Sheikh Kamal International Club Cup, SAFF Club Cup (proposed) | SAFF Championship |
Western Asia | West Asian Football Federation | WAFF | 12 | — | WAFF Championship |
Arab States | Union of Arab Football Associations | UAFA | 12 | Arab Club Champions Cup | FIFA Arab Cup |
Subregion | Governing body | Abbr. | No. | International club competition(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Caribbean | Caribbean Football Union | CFU | 31 | CONCACAF Caribbean Cup |
CONCACAF Caribbean Shield | ||||
Central America | Central American Football Union | UNCAF | 7 | CONCACAF Central American Cup |
Northern America | North American Football Union | NAFU | 3 | Leagues Cup |
Campeones Cup |
The football associations listed in this section are members of FIFA-affiliated confederations. They are listed by their official names registered with FIFA.