By Balogun Damilola
FIFA, world football governing body, has proposed allowing teams to make up to five substitutions per game to help players cope with the return to action after the COVID-19 crisis.
If approved, FIFA’s proposals would also apply to competitions due to start in 2020/2021 season, as well as the current campaign, according to Sky Sports.
How it works? Teams will be granted certain windows during games to change players — aside injuries — so the flow of the match will not be disrupted with extra subs being made just to waste time.
The proposal would have to be approved by the International Football Association Board (IFAB), soccer’s rule-making body while the final decision would rest with competition organizers.
“When competitions resume, such competitions are likely to face a congested match calendar with a higher-than-normal frequency of matches played in consecutive weeks,” a FIFA spokesman told the news outlet.
“Safety of the players is one of FIFA’s main priorities then. One concern in this regard is that the higher-than-normal frequency of matches may increase the risk of potential injuries due to a resulting player overload.
“In light of this and in light of the unique challenge faced globally in delivering competitions according to the originally foreseen calendar, FIFA proposes that a larger number of substitutions be temporarily allowed at the discretion of the relevant competition organiser.
“In competitions where less than five substitutions are currently allowed, each team would now be given the possibility to use up to five substitutions during the match, with the possibility of an additional substitution remaining during extra time, where relevant.”