Every Year, IFAB Updates The Laws of The Game
Love the beautiful game? Here are the new Laws of the Game for 2020/21 and information on the temporary change regarding the substitutes rule which now allows 5 players.
Football is the greatest sport on earth.
It is played in every country and at many different levels. The Laws of the Game are the same for all football throughout the world from the FIFA World Cup™ final through to a game between young children in a remote village.
These are the opening words of The International Football Association Board (The IFAB) introduction to the Laws of The Game.
These are the laws that dictate how the game of soccer is played and the critical part is that the same Laws apply in every match in every league regardless of age, level, or country. The purpose of the laws are to keep the game “fair” and consistent and make sure there is respect on the field. The Laws of the Game accomplish this.
As the game is a thinking sport, it evolves and so do the rules.
The culture of discipline and rules help breed independent and better players and it is important to keep up with the changes in the Laws of the Game. Since inception in 1863, the laws have changed in many ways.
Laws of the Game 2020/21
The Laws of the Game 2020/21, approved at the 134th Annual General Meeting held on 29 February 2020, come into force on 1 June 2020.
The downloadable versions of the full Laws of the Gamebook, the summary and details of all Law changes as well as other supporting material are available here and the PDF is below:
What are the differences wit the Laws of the Game for 2020/21? Here are the clarifications on the Law changes (large file but great!)
Coronavirus (COVID-19) and the Laws of the Game
Competitions that have been suspended or delayed because of COVID-19 have the option of completing the competition using the Laws of the Game 2019/20 or adopting the Laws of the Game 2020/21.
‘Friendly/practice/warm-up’ matches in preparation for the restart of the competition are permitted to use the version of the Laws that will be used when the competition restarts, even if these matches are after 1 June 2020.
Read: SOCCER’S NEW LAWS OF THE GAME AND AN APP TO HELP YOU REMEMBER
Temporary Amendment to Law 3 – The Players: Five substitutes option temporarily allowed for competitions
On 8 May 2020, a temporary amendment to Law 3 was introduced which allows top competitions to give their teams the option to use a maximum of five substitutes with each team having three opportunities to make substitutions, in addition to any substitutions made at half-time.
For competitions which have either started or are intended to start, but are scheduled to be completed by 31 December 2020, the IFAB has approved FIFA’s proposal to introduce a temporary amendment to Law 3 – The Players, which will allow for a maximum of five substitutes to be made per team.
However, to avoid disruption to the game, each team will only have three opportunities to make substitutions; substitutions may also be made at half-time.
The temporary amendment comes into force with immediate effect and has been made as matches may be played in a condensed period in different weather conditions, both of which could have impacts on player welfare.
Read: WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE LAWS OF SOCCER?
The decision on whether to apply this temporary amendment will remain at the discretion of each individual competition organizer, while The IFAB and FIFA will determine at a later stage whether this temporary amendment would need to be extended further.
More details can be found here.
Source: Release
