On May 21st, 1904, FIFA was founded at 229 Rue Saint-Honoré in Paris, France. The federation was founded by seven member nations, France, Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and Spain in pursuit of one shared vision: organized, international football.

By 1930, the federation moved beyond simply setting shared rules for the sport and took on a bolder ambition: a tournament open to every affiliated nation, professional and amateur alike. That vision became reality in Uruguay in 1930, when the first FIFA World Cup brought together thirteen national teams in Montevideo, beginning of what would become the most watched sporting event on Earth. From that point forward, FIFA was no longer just a rulemaking body; it was the custodian of football's biggest stage, and the institution around which the international game would organize itself for the century to come.

What began as seven nations in a back room in Paris is now a federation of 211 member associations, spanning six confederations across every inhabited continent. The World Cup has grown from thirteen teams to a global tournament watched by billions, while the women's game, grassroots development, and community programs have carried football into every corner of the world. Through more than a century of change, one thing has stayed constant: football's power to unite people across language, culture, and geography, in pursuit of a single, shared game.