60-minute match?: FIFA planning to introduce controversial rules to improve the game

FIFA are reportedly trying out a new set of rules in a bid to improve the game. The football governing body are slated to test out the curated guidelines at the ‘Future of Football Cup’ youth tournament.

The tournament features the youth sides of  PSV, AZ Alkmaar, RB Leipzig, and Club Brugge, and will play the game with the introduction of five pivotal rules.

• 30 minutes a half
• Stoppage of the game clock when the ball goes out of play
• No restrictions on the number of substitutions allowed
• Throw-ins to be replaced by kick-ins
• 5 minutes suspension upon receiving a yellow card

According to Mundo Deportivo, to start off with, the length of the game will be 60 minutes instead of the usual 90. The game will comprise 2 halves of 30 minutes each.

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez had already suggested a shortened game length in the European Super League to pique the interest of young fans.

Secondly, the clock will stop when the ball goes out of play. This is being implemented in a bid to eradicate time-wasting from the game altogether.

But, if the ball does go out of play through the sidelines, instead of a throw-in, the team will take a kick-in from the line.

There is also a change in the substitution rules in the offing. The mandate rule of three substitutions will make way for unlimited substitutions. Moreover, a player who has been handed a yellow card, will receive a temporary suspension of five minutes from the game.

Fans far from pleased with FIFA’s idea

The prospect of the new rules being introduced has not gone down well with the fans. The majority of the general population vouch for the game as it is.

It is a testing time for the world of football, with changes being constant. While the European Super League project collapsed, the UEFA are still planning to change the format of the Champions League.

The extended round-robin format along with the removal of the away goals rule has left the fans in bad taste with the governing bodies.

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