UEFA

The Union of European Football Associations (French: Union des Associations Européennes de Football; German: Vereinigung Europäischer Fußballverbände), almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA (play /juːˈeɪfə/ ew-ay-fə) is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer.

UEFA represents most of the national football associations of Europe, runs national and club competitions in its area, and controls the prize money, regulations and media rights to those competitions. Due to the disputed boundary of Europe and Asia transcontinental nations such as Turkey, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia, and Russia, are members of the UEFA rather than AFC, as are Israel and Cyprus which lie entirely in Asia (Israel and Kazakhstan are former AFC members). There are members that do not represent sovereign states, such as the Faroe Islands, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland (Irish FA). However no unrecognized nations are members of UEFA, with Monaco being the only European UN member not a member of UEFA.

UEFA is the biggest of six continental confederations of FIFA. Of all the confederations, it is by far the strongest in terms of wealth and influence at the club level. Virtually all of the world's top players play in European leagues in part due to the salaries available from the world's wealthiest football clubs, particularly in England, Spain, Germany, Italy and France. Many of the world's strong national sides are in UEFA. Of the 32 available spots in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, 13 were allocated to UEFA national teams, and currently top 3 as well as other 9 of the top 20 teams in the FIFA World Rankings are UEFA members. UEFA is nearly as strong in the women's game, with five of the 16 places in the upcoming 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup guaranteed to UEFA members and a sixth possible, and 5 of the top 10 teams in the most recent FIFA Women's World Rankings are from UEFA, including double defending World Cup champion Germany. When national team results are not in UEFA's favour, UEFA's political and economic influence is noted as UEFA consistently is over-represented in all interntional competitions: Mens and Women's World Cup, FIFA U20 World Cup, FIFA U17 World Cup. A clear case is noted in the FIFA U20 World Cup for men where the South American and African conferences have been dominant as the last 5 champions and 8 of the 10 finalists have been either from South America or Africa. Despite this, South American and African representation at the tournament is limited to 4 teams while UEFA continues to be awarded 6 entries.

UEFA was founded on 15 June 1954 in Basel, Switzerland following discussions between the French, Italian and Belgian FAs. The headquarters was in Paris until 1959 when the organization moved to Bern. Henri Delaunay was the first General Secretary and Ebbe Schwartz the president. Its administrative center has been in Nyon, Switzerland, since 1995. It was initially made up of 25 national associations. Currently there are 53 associations (see the bottom of this page or List of UEFA national football teams). UEFA national teams have won ten FIFA World Cups (Italy 4, Germany 3, England, France and Spain, one trophy each), and UEFA clubs have won 21 Intercontinental Cups and four FIFA Club World Cups. In the women's game, UEFA sides have won three World Cups (Germany 2, Norway 1) and one Olympic gold medal (Norway).

UEFA, as a representative of the national associations, has had a number of bruising clashes with the European Commission. In the 1990s the issues of television rights and especially international transfers (the Bosman ruling) had to undergo some major changes to remain in line with European law.

UEFA competitions

Clubs:

* UEFA Champions League
* UEFA Europa League
* UEFA Cup Winners' Cup (1960–1999)
* UEFA Intertoto Cup (1995–2008)
* UEFA Super Cup
* UEFA Women's Champions League
* UEFA Futsal Cup
* UEFA club competition records
* List of UEFA club competition winners
* Intercontinental Cup (1960–2004)

National teams:

* UEFA European Football Championship
* UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship
* UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship
* UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship
* UEFA Women's Championship
* UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship
* UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship
* UEFA Futsal Championship
* UEFA Futsal Under-21 Championship
* UEFA-CAF Meridian Cup

Amateur:

* UEFA Regions' Cup
* UEFA Amateur Cup (1967–1978)

Abbreviation UEFA
Motto We care about Football
Formation June 15, 1954 (1954-06-15) (57 years ago)
Type Sports organisation
Headquarters Switzerland Nyon, Switzerland
Coordinates 46°22′16″N 6°13′52″E / 46.371009°N 6.23103°E / 46.371009; 6.23103
Region served Europe
Membership 53 national associations
Official languages English, French, German
Main organ UEFA Congress
Parent organization FIFA
Website www.UEFA.com

FIFA

The International Federation of Association Football (French: Fédération Internationale de Football Association), commonly known by the acronym FIFA (usual English pronunciation: /ˈfiːfə/), is the international governing body of association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its current president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth successive term. FIFA is responsible for the organisation and governance of football's major international tournaments, most notably the FIFA World Cup, held since 1930. Nineteen editions of the FIFA World Cup have been held so far. The next edition is to be held in Brazil in 2014.

FIFA has 208 member associations, three more than the International Olympic Committee and five fewer than the International Association of Athletics Federations: not all members are sovereign states.

FIFA's supreme body is the FIFA Congress, an assembly made up of representatives from each affiliated member association. The Congress assembles in ordinary session once every year and, additionally, extraordinary sessions have been held once a year since 1998. Only the Congress can pass changes to FIFA's statutes.

Congress elects the President of FIFA, its General Secretary and the other members of FIFA's Executive Committee. The President and General Secretary are the main officeholders of FIFA, and are in charge of its daily administration, carried out by the General Secretariat, with its staff of approximately 280 members.

FIFA's Executive Committee, chaired by the President, is the main decision-making body of the organisation in the intervals of Congress. FIFA's worldwide organisational structure also consists of several other bodies, under authority of the Executive Committee or created by Congress as standing committees. Among those bodies are the Finance Committee, the Disciplinary Committee, the Referees Committee, etc.

Beside from its worldwide institutions (presidency, Executive Committee, Congress, etc.) there are six confederations recognised by FIFA which oversee the game in the different continents and regions of the world. National associations, and not the continental confederations, are members of FIFA. The continental confederations are provided for in FIFA's statutes, and membership of a confederation is a prerequisite to FIFA membership.

AFC – Asian Football Confederation

Australia have been members of the AFC since 2006

CAF – Confédération Africaine de Football

CONCACAF – Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football

Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana are CONCACAF members although they are in South America

CONMEBOL – Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol

OFC – Oceania Football Confederation in Oceania

UEFA – Union of European Football Associations

Teams representing Israel and the transcontinental nations of Russia, Turkey, Cyprus, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia are under the auspices of UEFA, as is, since 2002, Kazakhstan.

In total, FIFA recognises 208 national associations and their associated men's national teams as well as 129 women's national teams; see the list of national football teams and their respective country codes. FIFA has more member states than the UN, as FIFA recognises 23 non-sovereign entities as distinct nations, such as the four Home Nations within the United Kingdom or politically disputed territories such as Palestine.[2] Only 8 sovereign entities don't belong to FIFA (Monaco, Vatican City, Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Tuvalu, Palau and Nauru).

The FIFA World Rankings are updated monthly and rank each team based on their performance in international competitions, qualifiers, and friendly matches. There is also a world ranking for women's football, updated four times a year.

The FIFA Congress is the supreme legislative body of FIFA, and has met 66 times since 1904. Since 1998 the congress has been held annually. At the congress decisions are made relating to FIFA's governing statutes and their method of implication and application. The congress approves the annual report, and decides on the acceptance of new national associations and holds elections. Each national football association has one vote, regardless of its size or footballing strength. In the year following the FIFA World Cup, the President of FIFA is elected.

Abbreviation FIFA

Motto "For the game, for the world."

Formation May 21, 1904 (1904-05-21) (107 years ago)

Type Federation of national associations

Headquarters Zurich, Switzerland

Coordinates 47°22′53″N 8°34′28″E / 47.38139°N 8.57444°E / 47.38139; 8.57444

Region served Worldwide

Membership 208 national associations

Official languages English, French, German, Spanish[1]

Affiliations International Olympic Committee

Website fifa.com

Premier League

The Premier League is an English professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the English football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with The Football League. The Premier League is a corporation in which the 20 member clubs act as shareholders. Seasons run from August to May, with teams playing 38 matches each, totalling 380 matches in the season. Most games are played on Saturdays and Sundays, with a few games played during weekday evenings. It was known as the Premiership from 1993 to 2007. It is currently sponsored by Barclays Bank and therefore officially known as the Barclays Premier League.

The competition formed as the FA Premier League on 20 February 1992 following the decision of clubs in the Football League First Division to break away from The Football League, which was originally founded in 1888, and take advantage of a lucrative television rights deal. The Premier League has since become the world's most watched association football league. It is the world's most lucrative football league in terms of revenue, with combined club revenues of over £2 billion in 2008–09.[2] It is ranked first in the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) coefficients of leagues based on performances in European competitions over the last five years, ahead of Spain's La Liga and Germany's Bundesliga.

Since 1888, a total of 23 clubs have been crowned champions of the English football system. Of the 44 clubs to have competed since the inception of the Premier League in 1992, four have won the title: Manchester United (12 titles) Arsenal (3), Chelsea (3) and Blackburn Rovers (1). The current champions are Manchester United, who won the title in the 2010–11 season.

Countries England & Wales
Confederation UEFA (Europe)
Founded 20 February 1992
Number of teams 20
Levels on pyramid 1
Relegation to Football League Championship
Domestic cup(s) FA Cup
League cup(s) League Cup
International cup(s) UEFA Champions League
UEFA Europa League
Current champions Manchester United
(2010–11)
Most championships Manchester United (12)
TV partners Sky Sports
ESPN
BBC (Highlights only)
Website premierleague.com