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Sikhumbuzo Moyo, Senior Sports Reporter
THE International Football Association Board (IFAB) has resolved to extend the use of five substitutes per game in competitions that are scheduled to be completed by July 31, 2021, and to international competitions scheduled to take place in July and August 2021.

The five substitutes per game decision was taken on May 8 for competitions that were set to be completed this year as a result of condensed competition period due to effects of the Covid-19 pandemic that paralysed global sporting competitions.

In a statement, IFAB said the main reason for the  temporary amendment to Law 3, The Players, was the impact on player welfare in 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 that may have a shorter-than-usual recovery/preparation period before the start of their next season.

It said 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,” reads the IFAB  statement released by secretary Lukas Brud.

IFAB is the guardian of the Laws of the Game and is tasked with preserving, monitoring, studying and amending football rules. 

Laws of the Games can only be changed by The IFAB whose members are England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Fifa, who joined the four English associations in 1913.

The original IFAB meeting that was represented by two members each from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales took place on June 2, 1886, in London.

The Laws of the Game changed significantly overtime; penalty kick and goal nets were introduced in 1891 and between 1896 and 1899 it was agreed that each team should have 11 players on the field, that a match is to last 90 minutes and the field ought to have the dimensions it still retains today. 

On May 21, 1904, Fifa was formed in Paris, France, and as the growth of football was recognised globally, members of Fifa realised the need for a uniform set of rules just like the English associations had done decades earlier and it was then that Fifa accepted the Laws of the Game as laid out by the IFAB.

Fifa became a full member of the IFAB nine years after its formation and was thus given the same voting power as the original four associations.