The Confederation of International Football Federation (FIFA), have issued a declaration in response to media reports going rife regarding a purported considering to extend the duration of football matches at the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 from the usual 90 minutes to 100 minutes, as part of changes it intends to make to the Rules of the Game.
The world football governing body has firmly denied such reports, but was however silent on whether or not there is any such consideration for the future.
There were numerous speculations of Wednesday, April 6th that FIFA has actually made changes to the duration of the game with the intention of making fans enjoy the game for a longer duration then the usual duration of 90 minutes allowed under the Law 7 of the Laws of the Game.
The Law 7 of the Laws of the Game which address the periods of play states:
“A match lasts for two equal halves of 45 minutes, which may only be reduced
if agreed between the referee and the two teams before the start of the match
and if in accordance with competition rules”.
However, the reports circulating claimed, that FIFA President, Gianni Infantino has been considering changes this aspect of the law to extend the period of play at the 2022 World Cup to 100, a claim the Association has now firmly debunked.
“Following some reports and rumours spread today, FIFA would like to clarify that there will be no changes to the rules regarding the length of football matches for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 or any other competition”, FIFA clarified via Twitter.
