Arsene Wenger's Proposal to Replace Throw-ins Set to be Trialled by Football Lawmakers

FIFA’s chief of global football development and former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger had proposed a host of rule changes to football back in 2020 including a change in offside law and introducing kick-ins instead of throw-ins. Wenger’s proposals now seem to have received attention as his ideas are set to be trialled after discussions by the International Football Association Board at their annual general meeting.

In an interview with L’Equipe in 2020, Wenger had pointed out two-time wasters in a football match. And to counter the problem he had his plans ready.

“I would like to change the throw-in rule: five minutes before the end, a throw-in for you should be an advantage, but in these situations, you are facing 10 outfield players in play, whilst you only have nine,” Wenger had said.

“Stats show that in eight out of 10 of those throw-in situations, you lose the ball. In your half of the pitch, you should have the possibility to take a kick instead,” he added.

Over a year later, the International Football Association Board (IFAB) analysed the idea of trialling ‘kick-ins’ at their Annual General Meeting. IFAB- comprised of FIFA, The FA, the Irish FA, the Scottish FA and the FA of Wales – met in Qatar for the annual gathering. And it was chaired by FIFA president Gianni Infantino.

“Other trials such as explaining certain refereeing decisions during a game, a potentially fairer calculation of playing time, and kick-ins were also discussed,” the IFAB statement read.

“The AGM was clear that these and any other trials require permission and will be supervised by The IFAB and FIFA,” the statement added.

Apart from these, members also decided to make changes to the number of named substitutes listed on the team sheet. Earlier, maximum of 12 substitutes were listed on the team sheet. But now it has been increased to 15 at the discretion of the competition organiser.

After proposing major changes in 2020, Wenger has now commenced his work on a health check of the game. The health check includes talking to national associations globally with a focus on grassroots and coaching.

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