Every weekend, fans argue about decisions. Handball. Offside. Dissent. Stoppage time.
But rarely do we ask the most important question of all. Who is actually writing these rules? Behind every controversial decision lies an organisation most fans have heard of, but few truly understand.
The International Football Association Board, better known as IFAB.
What Is IFAB?
IFAB is the body responsible for writing and amending the Laws of the Game. Not FIFA. Not the Premier League. Not UEFA.
IFAB. Founded in 1886, IFAB predates FIFA itself. It was created by the football associations of England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland to standardise the rules of a rapidly growing sport. More than a century later, it still holds the final word.
How IFAB Is Structured
IFAB has eight voting members. Four votes belong to the British football associations, England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Four votes belong to FIFA, representing the rest of the world. To pass or change a law, at least six of the eight votes are required. This structure gives the United Kingdom an outsized influence over the laws of a global sport, while FIFA acts as the voice of over two hundred national associations.
Balance was the intention. Debate is the result.
Why FIFA Cannot Act Alone
A common misconception is that FIFA can simply change rules whenever it wants. It cannot. FIFA proposes. IFAB decides. Even major initiatives like VAR, handball clarifications, or changes to offside interpretations must pass through IFAB approval. This separation exists to protect football from political influence and rapid, reactionary change.
Whether it succeeds at that is a different question.
Why Rule Changes Feel Constant
Fans often complain that the laws change every season. In reality, the core rules rarely change. What changes are interpretations. IFAB regularly issues clarifications, guidelines, and explanatory notes to referees. These are meant to improve consistency, but often create confusion for fans who experience the law differently each week. A rule might remain the same. Its application might not. That gap fuels frustration.
The VAR Era and IFAB’s Biggest Test
Nothing has tested IFAB more than VAR.
The technology exposed flaws not just in officiating, but in the laws themselves. Handball definitions, offside margins, goalkeeper movement, all became visible in microscopic detail. IFAB responded with tweaks rather than rewrites. More clarity on arm positions. More guidance on offside body parts. More protocols around VAR intervention. Each fix solved one problem and created another. The challenge is no longer writing laws for football. It is writing laws for football played under cameras, slow motion, and global scrutiny.
The Distance Between Lawmakers and Fans
One of the biggest criticisms of IFAB is distance. Lawmakers meet in conference rooms. Football is played in chaos. Rules are discussed calmly. They are applied emotionally. When IFAB introduces changes, the reasoning is often logical. The impact, however, is felt by players, referees, and fans who were not part of the conversation. That disconnect explains why so many laws feel technically correct but emotionally wrong.
Are the Right People Making the Laws?
IFAB does consult widely. Former players. Referees. Competition organisers. But the final decisions remain concentrated among a small group. As football becomes faster, richer, and more global, the question grows louder. Should the laws still be shaped by the same structure created in the nineteenth century?
There is no easy answer. Tradition protects the game. Evolution keeps it alive.
What IFAB Gets Right
Despite the criticism, IFAB deserves credit. Football has avoided constant radical change. The game remains recognisable across generations. Laws evolve slower than trends. In a sport this global, restraint matters.
The problem is not that IFAB exists. It is that its decisions now live under unprecedented scrutiny.
Why IFAB Matters More Than Ever
Every debate about handball, advantage, dissent, or stoppage time eventually leads back to one place. IFAB. Understanding football today means understanding who writes its laws, how they are shaped, and why they change. Because when fans argue with referees, they are really arguing with a rulebook written far away from the pitch.
And until the gap between lawmakers and lived football narrows, the arguments will never stop. Not because fans hate the rules. But because they care too much about the game.
