Five-substitute rule to become permanent

According to The Times, the five-substitute rule is set to become permanent from next season.

The International FA Board panel reportedly supported the proposal to make the five substitutions permanent from 2022-23.

The proposal will go to Ifab’s business meeting next month and is likely to be approved during the general meeting that will be held in March.

“There is a lot of support about bringing five substitutes in as a permanent option. The meeting agreed generally that this would be good for the game,” a source told The Times.

Serie A adopted the five-substitute option after the COVID pandemic in 2020, but, back then, it was supposed to be a transitionary measure to help clubs and coaches cope with sudden absentees due to Coronavirus.

However, according to the report, the change would still allow competitions to opt for only three subs.

UEFA competitions have also had five substitutions since the summer of 2020 when Champions League and Europa League resumed after the lockdown.

Last year, IFAB extended the five-substitute option for 2021-22.

“The IFAB Board of Directors had agreed to review whether to extend this option further,” a FIFA statement released on July 2020 read.

Full story: https://t.co/ZRHtfLlDLl

— Martyn Ziegler (@martynziegler) October 27, 2021