The International Football Association Board (IFAB) has put forward proposals to reduce the length of matches by 30 minutes, cutting each half from 45 minutes to 30.
Under the changes, the match clock would be stopped every time the ball goes out of play.
The lawmaking body, made up of representatives from FIFA and the football-governing bodies of the four countries in the United Kingdom, recently outlined the changes in its ‘Play Fair’ strategy document for 2017-2022. The stated aim is to “develop the laws of the game to improve football” over the next five years.
The IFAB argues that currently there are only 60 minutes of “effective actual play” and that the proposals would therefore not reduce time play, but rather reduce wasted time and speed up the game.
The changes have been branded as ‘radical’ in many media reports, although they have also received support from some involved in the game, including Arsenal goal keeper Petr Cech and ex-Chelsea striker Gianfranco Zola.
It would certainly be a shift, although many sports are doing similar things to try and speed things up and sustain interest in an age when instant gratification is becoming more and more the norm. For example, there are plans to try new formats in tennis; however, such efforts won’t happen until after Wimbledon, so any changes won’t affect the odds on who might win there next month. In cricket, this has already happened to an extent due to the arrival of Twenty-20 back in 2003.
Meanwhile, other changes put forward by the IFAB in its ‘Play Fair’ strategy document would allow substituted players to leave the field at the nearest boundary line (as opposed to at the halfway line) and pass to themselves after a free kick, something that was allegedly permitted in the original 1863 rules of the game. It is hoped that this would also speed up the game and encourage “attacking play”, since the fouled player can immediately continue their dribble/move.
The changes in the report are all grouped into three areas, namely: “could be implemented immediately”, “ready for testing” and “discussion”, with the overall goal being to make the game fairer, more attractive and more enjoyable.
At this point, all the proposals will be examined during the coming months, with decisions scheduled to be made with respect to each individual proposal at the 2018 IFAB annual general meeting next March.
IFAB technical director and former Premier League referee David Elleray has overseen the document and told Sky Sports News HQ that the ‘Play Fair’ strategy is a “starting point” with “no time limit”.
Some of the referenced changes will, however, be implemented at the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup in Russia, including a rule dictating that only the captain of each team can approach the referee or any other match official when a decision is deemed to be controversial (such as when a penalty is awarded). The intent is to prevent match officials from being mobbed.
Such trials are not new, and the IFAB has successfully run them ahead of moves to introduce Video Assistant Referees (or VARs), which now look ready to be used at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia and in the FA Cup next season, albeit subject to final approval.
