FIFA has recently proposed to allow five substitutions per match to protect players' health.
The coronavirus made the return of football a difficult task. The players will need to be fit again in short notice after a few months without training.
Moreover, they will need to play a high number of matches in the next months to complete the current season and the next one until May.
The idea of changing the substitutions number was discussed in the last years by IFAB, the body that determines each year's Laws of the Game. Nowadays, players are facing extensive seasons with more than 60 matches, including continental tournaments and national teams games. Therefore there is a possibility that their careers would not last as long as in the past.
It wouldn't be the first time that the number of substitutions would be changed. Until 1958, no substitutions were allowed at all. The first change allowed only one substitution, and it took 12 more years until it was introduced in the World Cup. A second substitution was approved in 1988, and the third was added in 1995. The recent change in 2018 approved a fourth substitution in case of extra time.
Making five substitutions is already in use in tournaments around the world. In the past few years, it was introduced in the UEFA youth tournament. In the U-17 and U-19 European Championship, teams can make five substitutions on three slots. Substitutions on half time would not count as one of the slots. The slots count was created to avoid constant breaks, that could affect the match flow.
Football rules may face more changes to adjust to the current situation. In the plans published by the K-League and the Bundesliga, there are restrictions on players, including wearing masks on the bench and disallow the use of dressing rooms. One of the challenges that football would face will deal is how it is possible to play when contact and marking are necessary, while social distancing is a common way of coronavirus prevention.
FIFA proposes to allow five substitutions until the end of the next season. As IFAB already approved the 2020/21 Laws of the Game, the proposal is still subject to its approval. Maybe that temporary change could become permanent and to be another step in the game's development.
