October 18 – The idea of increasing halftime breaks to 25 minutes to provide the kind of entertainment that exists in US sports will be discussed this month by the game’s lawmaking body, the International FA Board.
The request, which will horrify traditionalists, was made by Conmebol suggesting it would work for tournaments like the Copa Libertadores.
Law 7 of the game currently states “players are entitled to an interval at halftime, not exceeding 15 minutes.”
The Conmebol request is on the agenda of IFAB’s expert advisers’ meeting on October 27 .
In 2009, a FIFA proposal to extend halftime from 15 to 20 minutes was rejected as a commercial move.
The expert meetings this month will also get updates from ongoing trials to use temporary substitutes for players with suspected head injuries as well as the offside law.
Next month IFAB holds is annual business meeting when ideas are routinely discussed and then, if agreed, go forward to the full annual IFAB session the following spring.
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