IFAB Updates to the Laws of the Game

The sport of CP Football is played to the International FA Board (IFAB) Laws of the Game, accompanied by the IFCPF Modifications to the Laws of the Game.

The The International FA Board (The IFAB) have made amendments and clarifications to the IFAB Laws of the Game which have come into force as of 1st June 2019. Any tournaments or competitions which begin before this date may continue under the existing IFAB Laws of the Game.

Background

The 133rd AGM of The International FA Board (The IFAB) in Aberdeen, Scotland on 2 March 2019 approved a number of amendments to, and clarifications of, the Laws of the Game for 2019/20. Three changes were approved following 2 years of worldwide experiments:

• The introduction of yellow and red cards for misconduct by team officials.
• A player being substituted leaving the field at the nearest point on the boundary line.
• At a goal kick and a free kick for the defending team in their own penalty area, the ball is in play as soon the kick is taken (it can be played before it leaves the penalty area).

Other changes include: clearer wording for ‘handball’, attacking team players must be at least 1m away from a defensive ‘wall’, the goalkeeper only has to have one foot on the goal line at a penalty kick, and a new dropped ball procedure (including a dropped ball being awarded if the ball hits a match official and goes into the goal, team possession changes or a promising attack starts).
 

All changes came into force on 1st June 2019. Competitions starting before that date may apply the changes from the start of their competition, at an agreed point during the competition (e.g. after the mid- season break) or may delay them until no later than the start of the next competition.
 

IFAB Laws of the Game 2019/20 - At a Glance: Summary of the main changes

CP Football

The IFCPF Technical Committee reviewed the IFAB changes to the Laws of the Game for Football, in regard to adopting them within the sport of CP Football. The committee discussed the impact of each change to the sport of CP Football, with particular attention payed to ‘substitutions via nearest boundary line’, ‘goal kick’ and ‘defensive walls’ as detailed above. The committee felt that all changes were beneficial to CP Football and our players, and therefore proposed that all changes are adopted as of 1st June 2019 in line with IFAB. This proposal has been supported and approved by the IFCPF Board.

We are convinced that these changes will be positive for the game of CP Football and look forward to reviewing their impact in due course.