IFAB confirms five subs rule will continue into next season

Teams will be permitted to make up to five substitutions per game during the 2020/21 season, football's lawmakers, the IFAB, confirmed on Wedesday.

IFAB, the International Football Association Board, had agreed to a temporary change to allow teams to use five substitutes, rather than the usual three, in May to 'protect player welfare' during the COVID-19 pandemic.

But the 2020/21 campaign is set to start a month later than normal and therefore teams will face another crammed fixture list, prompting the IFAB to extend the rule on substitutions until July 31, 2021.

They will also allow it for 'international competitions scheduled in July/August 2021' which means it could also be used in the Euros to ease the strain on players suffering from fatigue with so many games in a shorter space of time.

It is now down to individual organisations, such as the Premier League and the EFL, to implement the rule change by way of a vote.

Cobblers boss Keith Curle was a fan of the temporary change for the play-off games. "It'll be a benefit," he said. "Because of the nature of how these games have come about, it will give us an opportunity to protect the players and also use it as a tactical option within the framework."

On Wednesday, the IFAB confirmed: "On the basis of this in-depth review, which included stakeholder feedback and an analysis of the impact of COVID-19 on competition calendars, the IFAB Board of Directors has extended the option to competitions scheduled to be completed by 31 July 2021 and to international competitions scheduled to take place in July/August 2021.

"The main reason for the temporary amendment to Law 3 – The Players was the impact on player welfare of competitions being played in a condensed period and in different weather conditions. The recent review has shown that the reasons for the temporary amendment remain valid and the impact on player welfare is likely to continue into 2021 due to various factors, including:

"Some competitions which resumed in 2020 may have a shorter-than-usual recovery/preparation period before the start of their next season.

"For many competitions, the 2020/21 season will involve matches being played in a condensed period due to a delayed start and the inability to end later than usual because of major international tournaments.

"There are no changes to the details of the temporary amendment to the Laws of the Game, which will allow for a maximum of five substitutes to be used per team. However, to avoid disruption to the game, each team will only have three opportunities to make substitutions, although substitutions made at half-time are not counted as one of the three opportunities.

"The decision on whether to apply this temporary amendment remains at the discretion of each competition organiser.

"The changing impact of the pandemic on football will be kept under constant review to ensure appropriate action is taken in the future in relation to this temporary amendment."