s held every four years, involves 32 national teams competing over a four-week period.[65] The most recent tournament, the 2010 FIFA World Cup, was held in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July, th

he recognised international governing body of football (and associated games, such as futsal and beach soccer) is FIFA. The FIFA headquarters are located in Zurich. Six regional confederations are associated with FIFA; these are:[64]

    Asia: Asian Football Confederation (AFC)
    Africa: Confederation of African Football (CAF)
    Europe: Union of European Football Associations (UEFA)
    North/Central America & Caribbean: Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF)
    Oceania: Oceania Football Confederation (OFC)
    South America: Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol/Confederação Sul-americana de Futebol (South American Football Confederation; CONMEBOL)

National associations oversee football within individual countries. These are generally synonymous with sovereign states, (for example: the Fédération Camerounaise de Football in Cameroon) but also include a smaller number of associations responsible for sub-national entities or autonomous regions (for example the Scottish Football Association in Scotland). 208 national associations are affiliated both with FIFA and with their respective continental confederations.[64]

While FIFA is responsible for arranging competitions and most rules related to international competition, the actual Laws of the Game are set by the International Football Association Board, where each of the UK Associations has one vote, while FIFA collectively has four votes.[19]
International competitions
Main article: List of association football competitions
A minute's silence before an international match

The major international competition in football is the World Cup, organised by FIFA. This competition takes place over every four years. Approximately 190–200 national teams compete in qualifying tournaments within the scope of continental confederations for a place in the finals. The finals tournament, which is held every four years, involves 32 national teams competing over a four-week period.[65] The most recent tournament, the 2010 FIFA World Cup, was held in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July, the first to be held on the African continent.[66]

There has been a football tournament at every Summer Olympic Games since 1900, except at the 1932 games in Los Angeles.[67] Before the inception of the World Cup, the Olympics (especially during the 1920s) had the same status as the World Cup. Originally, the event was for amateurs only,[18] however, since the 1984 Summer Olympics professional players have been permitted, albeit with certain restrictions which prevent countries from fielding their strongest sides. Currently, the Olympic men's tournament is played at Under-23 level. In the past the Olympics have allowed a restricted number of over-age players per team;.[68] A women's tournament was added in 1996; in contrast to the men's event, full international sides without age restrictions play the women's Olympic tournament.[69]

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