FIFA trialled three new rules during the FIFA U-15 World Cup and Festival, held in Baku, Azerbaijan, between 24 and 30 October. The trials aimed to speed up the pace of matches and develop young players' skills.
اضافة اعلان
The first edition of the tournament featured 189 teams from the six confederations, who played 932 matches and scored 4,505 goals, an average of 4.83 goals per match.
Three experimental changes
The changes included unlimited substitutions, giving as many players as possible a chance to take part and helping coaches manage their players' physical effort.
Throw-ins were replaced by kicks taken with the foot from the touchline, to speed up the restart of play and give players more chances to work with the ball.
The third change concerned the offside rule. Instead of being applied across the whole of the opponent's half, it applied only in an area starting from a line 14 metres from the opponent's goal.
What the experiment aims to achieve
Arsène Wenger, FIFA's head of global football development, said the tournament aims to give young talents more chances to play competitive matches and gain experience against opponents from different football schools.
He explained that talent exists all over the world, but the opportunities for it to develop are not equal. He stressed the importance of identifying promising players and providing the right environment to hone their abilities.
Format of the tournament
Matches were played with eight players per team on pitches measuring 68 metres long and 47 metres wide, using regular-sized goals. Each match consisted of two halves of 20 minutes each.
Each team's squad included 14 players, plus up to six technical staff. The competition was played in two stages, and the second stage determined a champion at each of the six levels.
These changes are part of FIFA's trials to develop football for youth age groups. They do not mean that the rules will be adopted in professional competitions or that the laws currently in force internationally will change.
