QATAR 2022 FIFA World Cup changes you ought to know

Some of the changes seem to be weird while some look to genuinely help solve a puzzle that has been there for long.

The previous rule has allowed only 3 substitutes to come on for every team, but since the pandemic a maximum of five substitutes was introduced.

A replica of the World Cup 2022 ball, the Adidas Al Rihla.

This rule usually helps coaches to have freedom on who to bring on to the pitch as compared to when substitutes used to be three which means you had to gamble as a coach.

This year’s World Cup will have a maximum of five substitutes and in case of extra time there will be an additional substitute. The 2022 Qatar FIFA World Cup will be the first-ever tournament to have five subs on the bench.

During this year’s World Cup, there will be a total of 36 referees and we will be seeing women referees for the first time in a World Cup competition.

Salima Mukansanga from Rwanda, Yoshimi Yamashita from Japan and Stephanie Frappart from France are the lucky women to have been given the opportunity to officiate the matches on the big stage.

History-making Rwandan referee Salima Mukansanga gestures during an Africa Cup of Nations Group B match between Zimbabwe and Guinea in Yaounde on Tuesday.

Three female referees will also join them and this is just a rare occasion that will be happening in a men’s World Cup for the very first time.

World Cup squads normally comprise of 23. For this year’s tournament, coaches will be required to name a 26-man squad from which they will use for the whole tournament.

Having 26 players in each squad will be similar to the Euro 2020 when the pandemic first struck. 23 players out of the 26 will appear in matchday squads, leaving out the extra three players.

This policy will allow coaches room to choose a variety of quality players bearing in mind that they could be the ones bringing to their home countries the precious golden trophy.