Greg Clarke will chair the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the International Football Association Board (IFAB) at Wembley Stadium on Friday.
England hosts the 131st meeting of the game’s law-makers at the national stadium with the agenda all set for discussion.
Following last year’s major revision of the Laws of the Game by FA Referees’ Committee Chairman and IFAB technical director David Elleray, this year’s AGM will be asked to approve final ‘tiding up’ to assist interpretation of some of the changes introduced in 2016.
And the AGM will be asked to extend the ‘Modifications’ section of the Laws of the Game to give national football associations more freedom and responsibility to modify their own organisational laws.
For example, aspects such as the number of substitutions and length of play can assist with the development of domestic football by promoting and encouraging more people to take part in the game.
So national football associations will be permitted to decide at which levels the modifications are applied in their domestic football, except for top-flight competitions involving the first team of clubs and senior international teams.
Additionally, as part of ‘Modifications’, the proposal to allow temporary dismissals (sin bins) for yellow card offences will be considered following tests in UEFA’s development competitions over the last three years.
On the topic of Video Assistant Referees (VARs), the AGM will receive updates on the completion of the first phase of experiments, including reports from the workshops held and more than 20 test matches organised to test the VAR protocols which were approved last year.
The IFAB’s overall strategy will also be discussed, ranging from expanding football’s philosophy of fairness to ensuring that ideas for development of the game are considered, tested and introduced in the right way and for the right reasons as well as embracing relevant and supportive technology.
Central to the strategy will be even closer relationships and communication with stakeholders to ensure the IFAB’s proposals and decisions relate to “what football wants”.
Particular focus will be given to the role of the captain and how her/his responsibilities could be enhanced as part of a move to improve on-field discipline and create better communication between players and match officials.
Additional agenda items include an update on experiments with the Law 12 change to the punishment for some denial of goalscoring opportunities, as well as a fourth substitute in extra time, with both changes currently being trialled.
As part of the deliberations, The IFAB will analyse feedback from its Football Advisory Panel and Technical Advisory Panel, which consists of representatives from across world football and meet twice a year to discuss topical matters related to the Laws.
The full agenda for the 2017 AGM can be seen here.
Image: Action Images / Carl Recine Livepic
