The World cup might be slightly different this year!
The last World Cup in Russia four years ago was the first to have Video Assistant Referee technology and it was a massive success at the tournament.
After the World Cup, so many football leagues adopted the technology and it was even successfully used at the African Cup Of Nations for the first time in 2022. However, since that time football has gone through a couple of changes and in this tournament that will be hosted in Qatar, some of these changes will come into play.
1. 5 Substitutions
One of the major changes we will see at the World Cup this year is the number of substitutions each team is allowed. In previous editions of the tournament, each team was allowed 3 substitutions each but since Covid affected football, a lot of Leagues across the world adopted the new 5 substitution rule. FIFA is going to adopt the same rule in the World cup.
Every team can now make 5 substitutions each but they must be made between the three substitution windows for the game.
2. 26-Man Squads
In previous editions of the World Cup, each team could only name 23 players for the tournament but now teams are given an extra 3 slots to name 26 players for the tournament. That automatically means more space for talented players and a larger squad.
This rule will probably work in favour of A-list countries that have too many options to choose from for tournaments like this one.
3. The Goalkeeper Penalty Rule
Since the last World Cup in Russia, one rule that has changed is the position of goalkeepers when spot-kicks are to be taken. The new rule is that goalkeepers must have a foot on the line when the penalty is taken as opposed to the former rule where they could move out of the line when the penalty is taken.
They felt the former rule gave goalkeepers an undue advantage in penalty situations hence the rule change. Anyway, this new one-foot-on-the-line rule will be adopted at the World Cup this year.
4. Semi-Automated Offside Technology
At the last World Cup, the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) was relatively a new technology and was not widely used in the game but now it has been adopted in various leagues across the globe. The Semi-Automated Offside Technology is VAR 2.0. The goal-line technology gives the centre referee a beep when the ball goes over the line of the goal. This new tech will also alert the linesman when a player is offside.
It will also reduce the average time to make offside calls from 70 seconds to 20 seconds. To support this technology, there will be so many cameras around the stadium and a special chip will be placed in all the balls.
5. Female Referees
For the first time in the history of the men’s World Cup, we will see female referees officiating games. Cool right? We have always had only male referees in men’s football for a long time but some European leagues began to adopt a new system where we started seeing female officials in the game both as centre referees and Linesmen.
Well, the FIFA World Cup 2022 will adopt the new system and allow female officials at the tournament.
#Sport is a segment that keeps you abreast of everything happening in the world of sports, shares facts, and sometimes also takes you down memory lane to relive some unforgettable sporting moments. In this edition, we are looking at 5 things to expect at the World cup in Qatar
