The FIFA Congress, the most-critical gathering of international football's governing body, used to assemble every two years. But since 1998, this gathering of the global football family has taken place annually in an extraordinary meeting. The introduction of annual meetings allows ‘football’s parliament’ to influence decisions concerning an ever-growing number of issues.

The Congress makes decisions relating to FIFA's governing statutes and the method by which they are implemented and applied. It also approves the annual report, decides on the acceptance of new national associations and holds elections, most notably for the FIFA presidency. In the spirit of true democracy, each national association has one vote, regardless of its size or footballing strength.