The Universal Laws of the Game
#LawsOfTheGame …The first-ever official mobile app gives quick access to the Laws of the Game 2019/20 and below is a link to download the new Laws of the Game 2019/20
The rules of soccer … The game of soccer, from the highly prized FIFA World Cup™ Final to the millions of youth soccer games on fields all across the USA, and around the globe, are governed by a set of rules known as the Laws of the Game.
The Laws of the Game are authorized on an annual basis by the International Football Association Board (IFAB) and provided by the Fédération Internationale de Football Associations (FIFA).
“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,” states the IFAB’s introduction.
Everyone — from coaches to players and from journalists to referees need to know what Laws of the Game are. Soccer parents should know what they are too.
Now, there is a convenient app for your phone to remind you what they are — and end those otherwise potentially endless disputes.
From The International Football Association Board (IFAB), you can now explore the Laws of football on your iPhone or Google Play.
Wonder if the IFAB ever changes the rules of the
soccer game?
The answer is yes, the rules of soccer are occasionally modified by the IFAB and this year there were changes that went into effect on June 1, 2019.
At this year’s AGM of The International FA Board (The IFAB) in Aberdeen, Scotland on March 2, 2019, a number of amendments to, and clarifications of, the Laws of the Game for 2019/20 were approved. And, just in case you were curious, this was the 133rd AGM of the IFAB.
The rule changes first took effect at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Poland.
What did the IFAB Change?
Three changes were approved following 2 years of worldwide experiments:
- The introduction of yellow and red cards for misconduct by team officials
- A player being substituted leaving the field at the nearest point on the boundary line
- At a goal kick and a free kick for the defending team in their own penalty area, the ball is in play as soon the kick is taken (the big change is that it can be played before the defending team leaves the penalty area). One of the reasons behind this change is to increase valuable playing time and limit time-wasting.
Other changes include: clearer wording for ‘handball’, attacking team players must be at least 1m away from a defensive ‘wall’, the goalkeeper only has to have one foot on the goal line at a penalty kick, and a new dropped ball procedure (including a dropped ball being awarded if the ball hits a match official and goes into the goal, team possession changes or a promising attack starts).
Here is the 11 page Summary of main Law changes for the 2019/20 soccer season.
the main changes from the International Football Association BoardDownload
The MLS has a great explanation of the impact of the new rules: PRO’s Mark Geiger explains “major overhaul” to FIFA Laws of the Game
U.S. Soccer also has information on the Laws of the Game that you can check out and there is also a video on theIFAB.com.
