The FIFA Council recommends permanently following the rule of five substitutions

Zurich - Sana

The International Football Association Board (FIFA), which is responsible for enacting the legislation of the game, recommended that the competition organizers be allowed to approve the involvement of clubs with five substitutions per match.

The FIFA Council and the football and technical advisory bodies said in a statement today that the decision to implement the rule is up to the competition organizers.

This temporary rule was first introduced in May 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic to allow clubs to use five players as substitutes per match instead of three to keep players safe amid a busy schedule of matches.

The bodies supported a proposal to amend the laws of the game to make the option permanent, after several demands from local federations, league links and all parties involved.

Last May, FIFA gave competition organizers the option to allow clubs to continue using five substitutions per match until the end of 2022.

The Premier League was the only one of the continent's major domestic leagues to return to the three substitutions in the 2020-2021 season, although coaches such as Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola have expressed concerns about player fatigue.