List of football federations


This is a list of international football governing bodies.

Global

Defunct

  • UIAFA - Union Internationale Amateur de Football Association - three, later seven members - founded in 1908 and dissolved in 1912. Main tournament was the Amateur European Championship, this confederations was the rival to FIFA in the early years.
  • NF-Board - New Football Federations-Board / Nouvelle Fédération-Board - 18 members + 14 provisional - founded in 2003, represented nations, dependencies, unrecognized states, minorities, stateless peoples, regions and micronations not affiliated to FIFA. The main tournament is the VIVA World Cup. This organization was dissolved in January 2013, however was revived in 2017, despite not being able to host any events that it tried to host, even after its announced revival. As of 2025, no successful events have been hosted since its revival.

Continental

FIFA confederations

FIFA-member football associations are formed together into continental confederations, which organize continental national and club competitions.
AcronymName in fullNo. of
members
FoundedContinent
represented
Main tournament
AFCAsian Football Confederation471954AsiaAFC Asian Cup
CAFConfederation of African Football54 F + 2 A1957AfricaAfrican Cup of Nations
CONCACAFConfederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football411961North America
Central America
Caribbean
CONCACAF Gold Cup
CONMEBOLConfederación Sudamericana de Fútbol101916South AmericaCopa América
OFCOceania Football Confederation11 F + 2 A1966OceaniaOFC Nations Cup.
UEFAUnion of European Football Associations551954EuropeUEFA European Championship

F = full members; A = associate members.

Inter-continental

The following confederations consist of FIFA member associations that cross continental boundaries.
  • UAFA - Union of Arab Football Associations - twenty-two members - founded in 1974, represents Arab nations from Africa and Asia. The main tournament is the Arab Cup.

Defunct

Sub-continental

Africa

Affiliated to CAF
AcronymName in fullNo. of
members
FoundedNations representedMain tournament
CECAFACouncil of East and Central African Football Associations10 F + 1 A1927Those generally regarded as forming the regions of East Africa
Some nations of Central Africa
CECAFA Cup
COSAFACouncil of Southern Africa Football Associations14 F + 1 A1997Those generally regarded as forming Southern Africa
Island states off the coast of Southern Africa
COSAFA Cup
WAFUUnion of West African Football Associations161977Those in West AfricaWAFU Nations Cup
UNAFUnion of North African Federations52005Those regarded as forming North Africa
UNIFFACCentral African Football Federations' Union8Some of the nations that form Central AfricaCEMAC Cup

Sub-Regions

Asia

Affiliated to AFC
AcronymName in fullNo. of
members
FoundedNations representedMain tournament
WAFFWest Asian Football Federation122001Represents nations from West AsiaWAFF Championship
EAFFEast Asian Football Federation102002Represents nations from East AsiaEAFF E-1 Football Championship
SAFFSouth Asian Football Federation71997Represents nations from South AsiaSAFF Championship
CAFACentral Asian Football Association62015Represents nations from Central AsiaCAFA Nations Cup
AFFASEAN Football Federation121984Represents nations from Southeast AsiaASEAN Championship

Not affiliated to AFC

North America

Affiliated to CONCACAF

Defunct confederations affiliated to FIFA

Defunct confederations not-affiliated to FIFA

  • CENF - Confederation of European New Federations - unknown number of members - founded in 2007 and dissolved in 2009, represented teams not affiliated to FIFA in Europe, and was affiliated to NF-Board. The main tournament was the CENF Cup, but is unknown to have been played.
  • FIFI - Federation of International Football Independents - five members - represented nations, dependencies and unrecognized states not affiliated to FIFA. The main tournament was the FIFI Wild Cup.
  • : The main South American non-FIFA organisation. As of August 2025, There are 11 member associations.
  • IFU - International Football Union - two provisional members - founded in 2009 as an international football confederation for nations and territories not admitted to FIFA, was dissolved in 2010.