South American Football Confederation

the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) is the continental governing body of football in South America with headquarters in Luque, Paraguay. CONMEBOL is comprised of 10 Member State Associations. Its governing structure is comprised of the Congress (legislative body), the Executive and Emergency Committees and the Presidency as well as Standing Committees.

Congress: the Congress is the supreme authority of the Confederation. It meets every two years and consists of all of the national associations affiliated with the Confederation. Each Member Association holds one vote. It is responsible for, among other things, appointing members of the Executive Committee. In addition, it admits and expels members, issues, interprets and amends Statutes and Regulations of the Confederation. It also resolves the issues and disputes that arise between affiliated associations, decide appeals against decisions of the Executive Committee and deliberates over financial and budgetary matters of the Confederation.

Executive and Emergency Committees: the Executive Committee is the continuing authority of the Confederation when the Congress is in recess. It consists of a Chairman and one representative from each of the affiliated associations. The functions of the Executive Committee are to manage the Confederation, enforce the Statutes and Regulations of the Confederation and the resolutions of the Congress. The Executive Committee is also responsible for organizing the official CONMEBOL tournaments. The Emergency Committee consists of the President, vice President, the Secretary General, and up to two directors appointed by the President. The Emergency Committee has the power to act on urgent matters that are within the authority of the Executive Committee. The Emergency Committee decisions are executed immediately and require ratification by the Executive Committee.

Standing Committees: the CONMEBOL Standing Committees aid in the administration of the Confederation. The CONMEBOL Statutes authorized the following committees: (a) the Finance Committee, (b) the Committee for International Affairs, (c) the Referee Committee, (d) the Technical Committee, (e) the Medical Committee, (f) the Committee on Legal Affairs, (g) the Doping Control Committee, (h) the Committee on Safety and "Fair Play", (i) the Committee on Protocol and Public Relations, (j) the Futsal Committee, (k) the Women's Football Committee and (l) the Committee for Press and Media.

President: the President is the representative authority of CONMEBOL. He presides over all of the meetings of the Congress, the Executive Committee and the Emergency Committee. He appoints the Secretary General and Treasurer of the CONMEBOL.