This archive report was first published on 9 May 2020.
On May 9, 2020, the International Football Association Board (Ifab) agreed to a temporary change to the laws of the game to protect player welfare.
The change, proposed by FIFA, allows teams to use five substitutes when the season resumes, which is expected to help alleviate fixture congestion.
According to Ifab, the temporary amendment comes into force immediately and has been made to protect player welfare in case matches are played in a condensed period in different weather conditions.
Each team will be allowed to use a maximum of five substitutes, with a maximum of three opportunities to make substitutions during the game. Substitutions may also be made at half-time.
Unused substitutions and opportunities will be carried forward into extra time, and teams will each have one additional substitution opportunity in extra time, if competition rules allow.
The decision on whether to implement the changes is for each relevant competition organiser, and Ifab and FIFA will decide at a later stage whether to extend the ruling to the 2020-21 season.
Germany's Bundesliga is due to resume next week, while the Premier League's Project Restart has a prospective resumption next month.
