The orderly development of football and the regular organization of competitions around the world rely on the coordination of professional football governing bodies. A complete football governance system has been built with close cooperation among global, continental and national football associations.

FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) is the top global governing body for football, headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland. It was founded in 1904 by seven founding countries: Belgium, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. FIFA has more than 200 member associations divided into six continental confederations. It oversees the world’s premier football competitions, among which the FIFA World Cup enjoys the highest reputation. FIFA is also responsible for implementing football rules and planning the global development of football, while each continental confederation hosts its own regional tournaments.

The Asian Football Confederation, known as AFC, was founded on 8 May 1954 with its headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is the continental governing body for football in Asia. Its key organs are the Congress and the Executive Committee. AFC aims to boost the development of Asian football and strengthen friendship within the Asian football community. It organizes football events across Asia in accordance with FIFA statutes and regulations. AFC hosts competitions including the AFC Asian Cup, AFC U-20 Asian Cup and football events at the Asian Games. It also runs the Asian qualifying campaigns for the World Cup, Olympic Games and FIFA U-20 World Cup, greatly promoting the progress of football in Asia.

The Chinese Football Association, abbreviated as CFA, was established in Beijing on 3 January 1955, with Huang Zhong as its first president. It is a national non-profit public welfare sports social organization voluntarily formed by football-related institutions in China. It unites domestic football organizations and individuals to advance football. Entrusted and authorized by the government and relevant laws, it administers national football affairs. It is a member of the All-China Sports Federation and the Chinese Olympic Committee, and the sole member representing China within FIFA and AFC.