Whois & Analysis for fifa.com

The International Football Association Board (IFAB) is the body that determines the Laws of the Game of association football.

IFAB was founded in 1886 to agree standardised Laws for international competition, and has since acted as the "guardian" of the internationally used Laws; since its establishment in 1904 FIFA, the sport's top governing body, has recognised IFAB's jurisdiction over the Laws.

IFAB is known to take a highly conservative attitude regarding changes to the Laws of the Game.

Futsal, or futsala, is a variant of association football played on a hard court, smaller than a football pitch, and mainly indoors.

It can be considered a version of five-a-side football.

The Laws of the Game are the codified rules that help define association football.

They are the only rules of association football subscribed to by the sport's governing body FIFA.

The laws mention the number of players a team should have, the game length, the size of the field and ball, the type and nature of fouls that referees may penalise, the frequently misinterpreted offside law, and many other laws that define the sport.

During a match, it is the task of the referee to interpret and enforce the Laws of the Game.

A sports governing body is a sports organisation that has a regulatory or sanctioning function.

Sports governing bodies come in various forms, and have a variety of regulatory functions.

Examples of this can include disciplinary action for rule infractions and deciding on rule changes in the sport that they govern.

Governing bodies have different scopes.

They may cover a range of sport at an international level, such as the International Olympic Committee and the International Paralympic Committee, or only a single sport at a national level, such as the Rugby Football League.

National bodies may or may not be affiliated to international bodies for the same sport.

The first international federations were formed at the end of the 19th century.

The Fédération Internationale de Hockey (English: International Hockey Federation), commonly known by the acronym FIH is the international governing body of field hockey and indoor field hockey.

Its headquarters are located in Lausanne, Switzerland and president is Narinder Batra.

FIH is responsible for field hockey's major international tournaments, notably the World Cup.