FIFA announce brand new rules for 2026 World Cup including VAR overhaul

FIFA has confirmed five major changes to the regulations for the 2026 World Cup, including giving VAR even more power.

With football fans across the world focused on the final matches of domestic leagues, it is easy to forget that the 2026 World Cup is now less than three months away.

This summer's World Cup will be the biggest ever tournament with a record 48 teams heading to the United States, Canada and Mexico to compete for the most famous trophy in football.

Before a ball has even been kicked, there has been plenty of drama surrounding the World Cup given the current political climate, with the most recent concerns surrounding Iran's participation in the competition amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

But it's not just drama off of the pitch that could impact the World Cup this year, as FIFA have announced that five new regulations will be introduced this summer that may have a huge impact on every match.

According to Argentine Journalist Gaston Edul, FIFA is introducing several new rules to crack down on time-wasting late in matches and to better deal with disciplinary issues.

The first of these new rules relates to quicker substitutions, with players leaving the pitch required to do so in 10 seconds, stopping them from deliberately walking off slowly while their team is ahead.

If they take longer, their replacement must wait one minute before entering, temporarily leaving their team with one fewer player.

The World Cup will kick off in June. (Image: Frederic J. Brown / AFP via Getty Images)

The timings of throw-ins and goal kicks will also come under tighter scrutiny under the new regulations, with officials enforce a five-second time limit for both.

Failure to restart the match within this limit will now result in possession being handed to the opposition.

The final change related to time-wasting will see any player receiving medical attention on the field leave the pitch after they have recovered, where they will wait one minute before returning.

Only if the injury was caused by a foul sanctioned with a card will a player be allowed to return to play immediately.

But it's not just time-wasting being targeted, as FIFA have now granted VAR the ability to review second yellow cards that lead to a red, as well as incorrectly awarded corner kicks.

Finally, the new regulations state that only the captain of a team can approach the referee to request explanations, any other player who surrounds the official may be sanctioned with a yellow card.