FIFA prepares significant changes in football rules, in anticipation of the 2026 World Cup, says the English newspaper The Sun. The tournament will be played in June and July next year in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
According to the newspaper, the main change in study by IFAB (International Football Association Board), the body responsible for defining the laws of the sport, is the end of the rebound in penalty kicks, which would always be followed by a goalkeeper’s goal – in cases where the goal is not converted.
The measure aimed to bring more balance between the chance of goal offered by the penalty and the one prevented by a foul or touch of hand in the area. The possibility of a rebound kick favors the team that is attacking and disproportionately the team that is defending, would be IFAB’s argument, according to the report.
Another consequence of the change would be to make irrelevant the need to prevent other players from invading the area before the collection, as the next move would be a goal or midfield shot.
Also according to the report, the changes, which would be under discussion in the highest instances of the entity, need to be defined and approved by the end of February, so that they are in force in the World Cup. The tournament will have, for the first time, 48 selections.
In early June, IFAB announced that two-touch penalty kicks should be repeated after Argentine striker Julián Álvarez slip during the approach in the knockout between Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid in the last Champions League.
The Club World Cup, closed last weekend, also had new standards: goalkeepers began to have eight seconds to replace the ball in play after a defense, nominated by the judge with signs with hands. In case of excessive delay, the opposing team receives a corner.
