Changes to the Laws of the Game for the 2025/26 season

IFAB are the guardians of the Laws of the Game, comprising of four British football associations (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) and FIFA. Each year IFAB refine the rules and laws that govern the game, and we go through some of the key changes that will impact grassroots clubs throughout the 2025/26 season.

The list of IFAB laws of the game updates for the upcoming season can be viewed by clicking here, prior to reading the article.

Major Change 1: Goalkeepers in possession for 8 seconds

According to The FA, the rule change for goalkeepers holding onto the ball with their hands/arms has been implemented for a multitude of reasons;

1) Goalkeepers around the world are holding onto the ball for longer periods of time without intervention from match officials

2) When their side is winning, goalkeepers often delay restarting play, specifically collecting the ball in their hands differently from the beginning and end of matches

3) The change in the Laws of the Game is designed to reduce time wasting, promote continuous play, and to enhance the overall experience for spectators

What happens when a goalkeeper has possession of the ball?

Firstly, if a goalkeeper makes a simple catch or save, the 8 seconds begin. If the goalkeeper has made a series of saves, or is impacted heavily into, the referee can delay ply to allow time for the keeper to stand up. If a goalkeeper has excessively held onto the ball, the below actions can take place.

• Should a keeper hold onto the ball for 8 or more seconds inside the penalty area, a corner kick is awarded

• The corner kick is taken to the goalkeeper's nearest side where they are standing

• Before the corner kick award, referees will visually count down when there is 5 remaining seconds left for a keeper to release the ball. They will raise one hand with all 5 fingers pointed up to action this as well

• There is no immediate disciplinary action given against the goalkeeper, though repeated sanctions will result in a goalkeeper receiving a warning, and a yellow card.

• If an attacking player prevents the keeper releasing the ball, an indirect free-kick will be awarded as the attacker is responsible for the delay.

How will this change impact referees during games?

The FA has advised referees to be in a good position with a good eyeline to communicate with goalkeepers, so they can provide a visual countdown with one arm raised above their head, moving fingers down until zero before the corner kick is awarded.

Referees have also been advised to consider when to start the 8 seconds;

• For a routine or simple save, the countdown starts immediately

• For difficult / diving saves, the countdown is delayed until the keeper has clear control of the ball (which we presume is when the GK has returned to their feet)

How do we believe these rules will impact games at grassroots level?

Goalkeepers will be encouraged to not pick the ball up in instances where they have made a routine save. For example, when a header is played back, or at chest height, keepers can still delay holding the ball by controlling with another part of their body and might maximise any seconds before picking up the ball. The rule change though is a breath of fresh air to prevent excessive time wasting. In any sense of the word, teams will always find ways to waste time, so the goalposts will just move to other areas of the pitch.

The other element to consider at grassroots level will be executing the consistency of the rule across the board, and not just in select games depending on the referee. If referees do implement the GK possession rule, but do not communicate this to players or the goalkeeper, this will only lead to frustration and a lack of control. So, from a club's perspective, referees must follow The FA's advice on how to clearly communicate and be proactive with the rule.

Major Change 2: Double touch when taking a penalty kick

In another change, Law 14 within the Laws of the Game has amended when there is a double touch. In the old rules, if a player scored with a double touch and this was picked up by match officials, an indirect free-kick was given, but the new rules give a reprieve to penalty takers.

Accidental double touches (e.g. slip causes ball to contact both feet or non-kicking foot):

• If goal scored → Retake the kick

• If missed → Indirect free kick to opponents (or missed if in a penalty shootout)

• Deliberate double touches → Indirect free kick or missed penalty

How will this rule change impact grassroots football?

To be honest, we haven't had many (if any) instances of players slipping over when taking a penalty kick and scoring. This rule change is a positive addition though as slipping over isn't an intentional touch of the ball, and does negate the advantage of a penalty kick, so we're happy to see that in those instances, the kick taker will be given a second chance.

Major Change 3: Captains Only Protocol

In an attempt at reducing confrontations and improving levels of respect in the game, the Captains Only protocol within laws 3-5 is firming up the communication barriers between referees and players.

Currently, enforcement of having only captains only speak to match officials, from our experience, isn't widely adopted within grassroots. Depending on the experience of the refereeing team, or sole match official, and their own interpersonal skills to manage a game of football still, the culture of having only the referee's speak to captains hasn't been culturally adopted between players and officials, though the significant change in the previous season was to book for dissent more regularly if a player is mouthing off at an official.

What are The FA empowering to match officials?

• Only designated captains (wearing an armband or identified at the coin toss) may approach the referee.

• Referees can activate the protocol by communicating with the players around them

• Once the referees have communicated the captains only protocol is activated, Referees and Captains are expected to enforce a 4m “no-go” zone is established around the referee

• Other players entering this zone in an aggressive manner or to cause interruption to the process will receive a yellow card for dissent

• If the above occurs with multiple players with at least 1 caution; this will be reported as an incident to the local County FA

How will this rule change impact grassroots football?

In our opinion, unless surrounding the referee is stamped out at Premier League and professional level, this will not be eradicated in grassroots football. The attitude towards referees needs to change at the highest levels, and until the stigma around a perception of poor quality referring from PGMOL and below, grassroots referees don't stand much of a chance to change the culture in a match, particularly when dealing with the basement grassroots leagues, unless they have a very strong sense of control over football matches, which doesn't happen with newer match officials who need a lot of guidance and support.

Other notable changes to the Laws of the Game:

• Law 8 (Drop Balls): clarification has been provided over who receives drop balls

  • If a drop ball occurs inside the penalty area: the ball is dropped for the defending team GK

  • Outside the penalty area: the ball is dropped for a player of the team that has or would have gained possession if this is clear to the referee; otherwise, it is dropped for a player of the team that last touched it. The ball is dropped at its position when play was stopped

• Law 9 (The Ball in and out of Play): In the instance of a non-player (team official, substitute, substituted or sent-off player or player who is temporarily off the field) touching the ball as it is leaving the field of play, an indirect free kick is awarded as there is no intention to interfere unfairly.

  • In 2019 there was a bizarre case in the Bundesliga 2 between Holstein Kiel and VfL Bochum where a substitute warming up and touched the ball after a shot was taken before it went out. A penalty was awarded. In these new rules, if the same incident was to happen under these new rules, the penalty wouldn't have been awarded.

• Law 11 (Offsides from a goalkeeper throwing the ball): When the goalkeeper throws the ball, the last point of contact should be used for the purpose of determining an offside position

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