In a major development from the world of football, the big European clubs have discussed the potential of utilising six substitutes in every match, to help the players in regards to reducing their workload
through the course of a season and beyond. It is understood that the team officials met at the European Football Clubs’ (EFC) General Assembly in Rome last week, where talks also took place around other issues in the sport.
As per the report published in BBC Sport, the matter of six substitutes wasn’t officially on the agenda, but there were prior discussion among clubs informally about it apart from increasing the number of players in squads for competitions as well. They are looking to increase the squad size from 25 to 28 players, which will be key to ensuring that six substitutes per match in football come to fruition.
Archie Gray was in 80 matchday squads for his club and country last season
The International Football Association Board (IFAB), who are tasked to make rules in football, would have to make a recommendation about changing the aforementioned rule to get the ball rolling, but nothing is set in stone currently. In the Premier League, teams have an option to use five substitutes per match along with an extra substitute in case a player suffers a suspected injury to their head while playing in the contest.
During the 2024-25 season, Tottenham and England defender Archie Gray was in 80 matchday squads for his club and country, the joint-most alongside midfielder Arda Guler from Real Madrid and Turkey. Moreover, there are doubts among the sources connected to the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) about whether increasing squad strength to 28 will serve in reducing the workload especially when the players are needing to travel for a matchday regardless of playing or not.
