FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafström has described the 139th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of The International Football Association Board (The IFAB) as “very constructive and fruitful” following discussions in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Hosted by the Irish Football Association (IFA), the meeting of the game’s rulemakers saw them consider and agree on a number of amendments to the Laws of the Game as well as reviewing decisions and measures implemented at last year’s AGM in Scotland.

“We’ve had very constructive and fruitful discussions – as usual – reviewing the changes of last year, a few proposals and, I would say, one main decision, as well, with regard to the goalkeeper and the length of time he can keep the ball where, now, the decision will be that if he keeps it more than eight seconds, the opposing team will receive a corner kick. So, it’s a big change but, also, part of the overall strategy of The IFAB to look at time-wasting and how we can improve things,” explained Mr Grafström, who – along with FIFA President Gianni Infantino – was part of the FIFA delegation at the meeting also attended by representatives from The Football Association, the Scottish Football Association and the Football Association of Wales. “(It’s a) beautiful place, great location and (I’ll) also take the opportunity to thank the Irish FA for their warm hospitality, their warm welcome.”

The IFAB also recommended competition organisers, players and match officials work together to adhere to the “captain only” guidelines FIFA implemented for the Olympic Football Tournaments at the 2024 Games in Paris. This means only team captains are permitted to approach the referee in certain situations.

Another of the major changes, which will come into force from 1 July this year, also follows successful trials at FIFA events. Competitions now have the option for the referee to make an in-stadium announcement to explain their decision after a video assistant referee (VAR) review or lengthy VAR check. First used at the FIFA Club World Cup 2022™ in Morocco, it was then also implemented at the FIFA U-20 World Cup™ in Indonesia in 2023, and notably at the FIFA Women’s World Cup™ that same year.

While other potential future changes were brought up, notably regarding the offside law, The IFAB also received an update on a number of trials that have been carried out over the last 12 months in a bid to improve the world’s most popular sport.

Key among them is Football Video Support (FVS), which is FIFA’s response to several requests from FIFA Member Associations who cannot implement the VAR system due to limited human and financial resources.

“(Chairman of the FIFA Referees Committee) Pierluigi Collina gave a report on that. I think we had two tests in the (FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup) and (FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup), very positive. I think the technology was also received very positively by the coaches, as well,” said the FIFA Secretary General. “So, I think this will be a great step to democratise technology and refereeing. Also, together with our Innovation Division, we’ll look at how we can reduce the price but, also, make it available to (FIFA) Member Associations who have been asking for this for a long time. So, they might not be able to afford VAR but, hopefully, with this system it will be a positive help to have the correct decisions on the pitch.”

IFA President Conrad Kirkwood, who chaired the meeting, added: “We find it hard to afford full VAR, and the idea that there might be a video review that’s done on a more modest basis that would allow us to analyse some of the potential mistakes that may be made during the game is a very positive step.”

The IFAB were also given an update on FIFA’s ‘Suspect and Protect’ concussion awareness campaign, launched in September 2024 in partnership with the World Health Organization, after it had initially been discussed at last year’s IFAB AGM.

The use of body cams worn by elite referees to provide footage for educational and training purposes was also on the agenda. Following positive feedback, The IFAB supported FIFA’s undertaking to pursue the trial further, with world football’s governing body confirming its intention to implement the technology at the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup as part of the live match broadcast. Conclusions drawn from trials of referees wearing body cams in England in a bid to deter physical and verbal abuse of match officials at lower levels of the game were also discussed. “It’s a real issue, I think, for all grassroots parts of the game wherever you are, in whatever country, the abuse towards match officials is very disappointing,” said Mr Kirkwood. “I feel very strongly it’s discouraging match officials from continuing in the game and new people from taking up the whistle, so I was really interested to hear about those.”