FIFA (1983: Doomsday)

The International Federation of Association Football (Federation Internationale de Football Association in French), commonly known by its French acronym, FIFA, is the international governing body of association football, also known as soccer. Its headquarters currently are in Luque, Paraguay. FIFA is responsible for the organization and governance of soccer's major international tournaments, most notably the FIFA World Cup, begun in 1930 and scheduled to be held in 2010 in the Celtic Alliance.

Pre-Doomsday
FIFA was founded in Paris, France, on May 21, 1904, and presided over its first international competition in 1906. The first World Cup was hosted, and won, by Uruguay. The tournament continued, with interruptions in 1942 and 1946 (due to World War II), through 1982, when Italy beat West Germany 3-1 in Madrid, Spain for the championship.

Post-Doomsday
In 1986 the South American Football Confederation met in Luque, Paraguay, to discuss future plans for international soccer. The confederation decided to reestablish FIFA themselves, with the organization operating for an 'interim' period out of the CSF's headquarters in Luque.

The World Cup was resumed in 1990, in Buenos Aires, with all South American sides participating in an invitational format. The United American Republic beat Brazil 2-1 in extra time to win the first post-war World Cup title.

In 1991, FIFA admitted its first non-South American members, Australia, Mexico and New Zealand. Due to the low number of nations participating in FIFA, it also voted to keep a format of inviting national sides, as opposed to the pre-Doomsday method of having only the host nations and previous winner automatically qualify and other nations qualify through regional tournaments.

Over the years, FIFA's membership grew to former members and new nation-states from Central America, the Caribbean, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

In 2006, the first World Cup held outside South America since Doomsday was staged in the ANZC; the Alpine Confederation shocked the soccer world by beating Brazil 1-0 in the final at Brisbane's Lang Park before 52,000 fans.

In 2007, FIFA chose to return to the old qualifying method for future World Cups, and divided the world into five regions:


 * South America (headquartered in Luque)
 * CONCACAF (North America, Central America and the Caribbean) (headquartered in Mexica, Mexico)
 * Europe (headquarters in Zurich, Alpine Confederation)
 * Asia/Oceania (headquarters in Singapore)
 * Africa/Middle East (interim headquarters in Pais del Oro and Cape Town, RZA)

Alpine Confederation, as the defending champion, and Celtic Alliance, the host nation, automatically qualified; ten nations have qualified so far for 2010's 16-team field, with four more berths to be decided in November and December.

In the 2009 FIFA World Congress in Zurich, Alpine Confederation, several new nations are expected to be formally approved as full FIFA members. Brazil is expected to be formally awarded the 2014 World Cup in a vote in Luque in November.