World football governing body FIFA is considering shortening the playing time in football from 90 minutes to 60 minutes. FIFA has for some time been trying to bring some changes in the world of football, and that happens to be one of the changes.
According to Mundo Deportivo, FIFA is looking for ways to improve the game and trial a series of different rules in the ‘Future of Football Cup’ youth tournament. Under 19 sides from PSV, AZ Alkmaar, RB Leipzig, and Club Brugge participate in the experiment, which features five key regulations.
Firstly, instead of 90 minutes, games will be made of two 30 minute halves – with the idea of shortened matches believed to have been taken from basketball and futsal. In April, Real Madrid president Florentino Perez had hinted at shorter games in the European Super League before it finally collapsed.
Also, the referee will stop his watch whenever the ball gets out of play in an attempt to crack down on persistent time-wasting, and there will be kick-ins instead of throw-ins. Normally, teams are allowed to make three subs, but it was recently adjusted to five subs per match due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
And then finally, yellow cards will result in a sin bin similar to what is seen in rugby. The offending player would be temporarily suspended for five minutes and forced to watch from the sidelines before returning to the pitch.
FIFA is saying in the meantime it is only a trial phase at present, and they will assess the success of the changes and decide on if they can implement them across boards. This was in agreement with the International Football Association Board (IFAB), the body charged with determining the laws of the game of football.