International Board

The International Football Association Board (IFAB) is the authority which determines and makes evolve/move the rules of football.

In addition to the approval of rules of the game in force, it works out new rules to be applied in the football games.

It east creates in 1882 after a meeting with Manchester (England) of the English federation, the Scottish federation, the federation of Wales and the Irish federation. It is thus agreed common rules applied in all the countries practitioner the play, and it is decided to create the first of the competitions internationales : the Championship of England of football.

FIFA, created with Paris (France) in 1904, adheres and makes observe the rules of the International Board .

The growing popularity of the sport led to the admission, in 1913, representatives of the FIFA to the IFAB. The current voting system is adopted in 1958. The IFAB includes/understands four representatives of the FIFA and a representative of each of the four federations of the United Kingdom. In the meetings of the IFAB, each of the four British federations has a voice; the FIFA, representing the rest of the world, has four votes. The decisions of the IFAB are approved when they collect at least six votes.

That makes necessary the approval of the FIFA for each decision of the IFAB, but the FIFA alone cannot modify the rules of football without they not being approved by at least two other members of the IFAB.

The IFAB holds two meetings per annum, one to decide possible new rules, and the other for internal decisions. First the Annual general meeting is called, and takes place itself in February or March, and the second the annual economic Parliament, and takes place itself in September or October.

Four weeks before the AGA, associations members send their proposals written to the secretary of association host. The FIFA prints then a list of suggestions distributed to other associations.

Guard of the Temple

The IFAB is regularly shown of conservatism in the evolution of the rules of the game. Its detractors estimate that is due partly to on-representation of British football, “inventors” of the football and with the adoption of the change of the rules in the majority of the three quarters. They think that Board should open more with the influences of the other continents (with the example of the polemic on the shirt of the national team of Cameroun and with the recommendations of the IFAB which followed from there).

Its defenders estimate as for them that the world success of football is due to the simplicity and the immutability of the basic rules of this sport whose IFAB constitutes the guard of the Temple.

External bonds

History of the IFAB on fifa.com

Internal bonds

Lists of the rules of football

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