Robert Guérin was a French journalist and the 1st President and founder of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association. A journalist with Le Matin newspaper, Guerin was actively involved in football through his role as secretary of the Football Department of the Union des Sociétés Françaises de Sports Athlétiques

Union des Sociétés Françaises de Sports Athlétiques

Union des Sociétés Françaises de Sports Athlétiques is a former French sports governing body. During the 1890s and early 1900s it organised numerous sports including athletics, cycling, field hockey, fencing, croquet and swimming...

. He brought together representatives of the first seven member countries in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 for the signing of FIFA's foundation act and agreement of the first FIFA statutes. On 22 May 1904, Guerin - then just 28 - was elected president at the inaugural FIFA Congress and remained in his post for two years, during which time another eight associations came on board, including the English Football Association.