June 24 – FIFA has approved 26-man squads for the World Cup in Qatar, up from 23, in order to maintain relaxed rules that helped coaches and players during the COVID-19 pandemic.
FIFA said the change, approved by the FIFA Bureau, was also due to the unusual timing of the tournament, the first ever winter World Cup, which runs from November 21 to December 18.
UEFA took a similar decision last year, allowing sides to pick three extra players for the European Championship.
FIFA also said up to 15 substitutes can be named for each game, meaning no player misses out.
The squad size change will send a total of 96 extra players to the tournament.
The deadline for all 32 competing countries to submit their final squads is October 20 – 30 days before the first game between Senegal and the Netherlands at the Al Thumama Stadium.
Squads will be together for just one week before the tournament kicks off instead of the usual preparation time of about two weeks.
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