# Substitutions · Football Level 2: Elementary

Football · Level 2: Elementary · Insporta Book (https://book.insporta.app/football/level-2/substitutions/)

Substitutions in Football (Level 2: Elementary) on Insporta: 100 sourced facts behind 10 tests. Covers: definitions; numbers and limits; and more.

5-substitute rule (permanent since 2022), 3 substitution opportunities (windows) plus half-time, up to 15 named substitutes, concussion subs (permanent since 2024), goalkeeper change procedure, return subs in grassroots/youth, substitution offences.

## Test 1: Definitions

- A substitute is a named player on the team sheet who is on the bench and may enter the field to replace a teammate, following the substitution procedure.
- A substitution opportunity is a stoppage during which a team can make changes. Multiple subs at the same stoppage count as ONE opportunity.
- A return substitution lets a replaced player come back on later — but only in competitions where the rule is specifically permitted.
- A concussion substitute is an extra substitution, beyond the normal limit, used specifically for a suspected or actual concussion.
- The technical area is the designated zone alongside the field where coaching staff and substitutes wait. The number of personnel and behaviour rules are defined by competition.
- Substitutes must be listed on the team sheet before kick-off — only those named can take part. The maximum is typically 15.
- A match cannot start or continue if a team has fewer than 7 players. Below 7, the match is not played (or is abandoned).
- Rolling substitutions allow free interchange of players (player re-entry). Used in futsal and many youth/grassroots competitions; not standard in 11v11 adult football.
- A tactical substitution is one made for any reason — strategy, fatigue, formation change. Fully legal under Law 3.
- An outfield player and the goalkeeper swapping roles during play is called 'changing places with the goalkeeper' — legal only at a stoppage, with the referee's permission.

## Test 2: Numbers and limits

- Since 2022/23, the 5-substitute rule has been permanent in IFAB Laws. Top-level competitions allow up to 5 substitutions per team in regulation time.
- Half-time is a free extra opportunity that does not count against the 3 in-play substitution windows.
- Since 2022, IFAB raised the named substitutes limit from 12 to 15 at the discretion of the competition.
- Each team is permitted one concussion substitute per match. It is in ADDITION to the 5 normal substitutes.
- To preserve fairness, when a team uses a concussion substitute, the OPPOSING team can use one additional substitute for any reason.
- Where competition rules permit, teams get 1 additional substitute and 1 additional opportunity in extra time. Substitutions between full-time and ET, and at ET half-time, don't count as opportunities.
- From the mid-1990s, the standard limit was 3 substitutes per team. This was the rule until COVID-related changes in May 2020.
- Any number of substitutions made during the same stoppage counts as only one substitution opportunity.
- The 5-substitute rule started as a temporary COVID measure (2020) before IFAB made it permanent for the 2022/23 season.
- In 2022, IFAB raised the maximum named substitutes from 12 to 15 at the discretion of competition organisers, alongside making the 5-sub rule permanent.

## Test 3: Roles and procedure

- The referee must be informed before any substitution. Procedure: referee informed, player leaves, sub enters at halfway line.
- The fourth official typically manages substitution requests and the substitution board (which displays sub numbers).
- A substitute enters the field at the halfway line, after the player they are replacing has left.
- A substituted player leaves from the nearest boundary point, not necessarily the halfway line, unless the referee says otherwise.
- The referee always has the final say on whether and when a substitute may enter the field.
- Any player can be substituted — including the goalkeeper. There's no restriction on which players can be replaced.
- The names of substitutes must be given to the referee before kick-off. Substitutes not named cannot take part.
- The 2025/26 'Captain Only' procedure restricts non-captains from approaching the referee during key incidents. The captain alone may speak respectfully with the referee.
- If the goalkeeper is sent off, an outfield player can take over goalkeeping. Most teams substitute a reserve GK for an outfield player if substitutions remain.
- Medical staff assess concussion. If an actual or suspected concussion is identified, the team can opt to use a concussion substitute (additional, permanent).

## Test 4: Allowed and forbidden

- In standard adult football, once substituted a player cannot return. Return subs are permitted only in youth, veterans, disability, and grassroots football.
- The incoming substitute may not enter until the outgoing player has actually left the field.
- Goalkeepers can be replaced during a shootout if they are unable to continue (e.g., injury) — provided the team has not used all its substitutes. They cannot be replaced for tactical reasons.
- Multiple substitutions at the same stoppage are allowed and together use only one substitution opportunity.
- Only substitutes named on the team sheet before kick-off can take part. An unnamed player entering is an offence.
- Goalkeeper and outfield players may only swap roles at a stoppage and with the referee's permission — never during live play.
- Half-time substitutions are allowed and don't count toward the 3 substitution opportunities — a free chance to make changes.
- If a player is being treated off the field, the team can substitute them without requiring re-entry. The substitution proceeds normally.
- Substitutes are normally allowed to warm up in designated areas. They must wear distinguishing 'bib' and follow competition rules.
- A red-carded player cannot be replaced. The team plays the rest of the match a man down — even if substitutions remain.

## Test 5: Consequences of offences

- Entering without permission is a cautionable offence for the substitute, restarted with an indirect free kick to the opponents.
- Deliberately leaving the field without permission is a cautionable offence — yellow card.
- Swapping roles during play without permission earns a caution for both the goalkeeper and the outfield player involved.
- Multiple subs at the same stoppage count as one opportunity — IFAB explicitly allows this.
- After 3 opportunities, a team cannot substitute more — except concussion subs (additional) or in extra time (1 more opportunity).
- A sub sent off (e.g., dissent) doesn't reduce the team's allowable subs. The team still has the same opportunities available.
- If a starter is sent off before kick-off, a named substitute can replace them. The team starts with 11.
- A team that drops below 7 players on the field, the required minimum to continue, forces the match to be abandoned.
- An unnamed player entering as a substitute is a serious offence. Red card; the player is reported; team's named substitutes count is NOT reduced.
- Concussion subs must follow the IFAB protocol. Misuse may lead to disciplinary action by the competition organiser.

## Test 6: History of substitution rules

- An informal international substitution (1889) predates the Laws officially permitting substitutions (1958) and their World Cup debut (1970).
- The earliest known substitution in a competitive match was in 1885 — for an absent player. Substitutions weren't formally part of the Laws yet.
- In 1889, Wales' goalkeeper Jim Trainer didn't arrive for a match against Scotland. A substitute came in to replace him. This is recorded as the first international substitution.
- Substitutions were first allowed at the 1970 World Cup in Mexico — same tournament where cards debuted. Two substitutes per team were permitted.
- From the mid-1990s, the standard was 3 substitutes per team. This remained the rule until COVID-related changes in 2020.
- In May 2020, IFAB introduced the 5-substitute rule as a temporary COVID measure to protect player welfare during fixture congestion.
- The substitute allowance grew in stages: introduced in 1958, standardised at 3 by the 1990s, raised to 5 in 2020, and made permanent in 2022.
- Concussion substitutions were made permanent at IFAB's 138th AGM on 2 March 2024, after multi-year trials.
- The Premier League adopted the 5-substitute rule for the 2022/23 season, later than several other major European leagues.
- Until 1965, English domestic football didn't allow substitutions for any reason. The FA introduced 1 sub for any reason in 1965.

## Test 7: Exceptions and edge cases

- If subs are exhausted, an outfield player must take over goalkeeping. The shootout continues.
- Concussion subs are additional permanent subs — they don't count toward the 5 normal sub limit. Each team gets 1 per match.
- Per the IFAB protocol, in competitions where named subs equal the max normal subs, a previously-substituted player may be brought back as concussion sub.
- Refusing to leave when substituted earns the outgoing player a caution, but the substitution proceeds regardless.
- An accidental extra player on the field is corrected as soon as the referee notices — play is stopped and the error is fixed.
- A substitute's misconduct on the bench, before ever entering the field, can still be cautioned or sent off by the referee.
- Wait — actually 4 subs over 4 stoppages = 4 opportunities used. Limit is 3. So they cannot make 4 in 4 different stoppages without violating the rule. The team would be denied the 4th separate-stoppage substitution.
- 5 subs in 2 stoppages = 2 opportunities. Half-time can be used as a third opportunity that doesn't count. So this is allowed.
- Substitutions take place at stoppages — the kick must wait. The new player takes the field-of-play position.
- Return subs are NOT permitted in senior 'A' or top-division club football — only in approved youth/veterans/disability/grassroots competitions.

## Test 8: Comparisons

- Football caps substitutions at 5 with no return; futsal's rolling system allows unlimited substitutions, with players able to return to the game.
- The rule moved from an unlimited-opportunity 3-sub system (pre-COVID) to today's 5 substitutes capped at 3 opportunities.
- Concussion subs are ADDITIONAL — they don't count toward the 5 normal subs.
- In senior 'A' international matches, up to 15 substitutes can be named, and up to 6 can be used (per IFAB).
- Extra time adds one more substitute and one more substitution opportunity on top of the regulation-time allowance, where competition rules permit.
- Most other European top leagues adopted 5 subs from 2020 (COVID temporary). The Premier League was one of the last to switch in 2022/23.
- Half-time substitutions are 'free' — they don't count toward the 3 substitution opportunities. Tactical advantage for teams.
- Return subs (only in approved grassroots/youth/etc.) allow players to come back. Normal subs do not — the substituted player is out for the match.
- Changing places with the goalkeeper requires referee permission and a stoppage. Doing so during play without permission = yellow card to both players.
- Ice hockey allows rolling substitutions ('on the fly') — players come on and off freely. Football does not (in adult 11v11).

## Test 9: Mini scenarios

- 3 windows already used. The 4th sub at a 4th stoppage is forbidden under the 3-opportunity rule.
- Grouping substitutions into stoppages, not counting each individual sub, is what determines how many opportunities are used.
- Half-time subs are free — they don't count toward the 3 opportunities.
- Concussion subs are additional. The team can replace the GK; the opponents get 1 additional sub for fairness.
- A team below 7 cannot continue — match is abandoned.
- Entering without permission earns the substitute a caution, restarted with an indirect free kick regardless of what happens next.
- A sent-off goalkeeper can be replaced like any other player, as long as the team still has substitutions available.
- Changing places with the goalkeeper during play without permission = yellow card to both.
- Return substitutions are restricted to youth/veterans/disability/grassroots — not Premier League. The substituted player cannot return.
- In approved youth football, return subs are permitted. The substituted player can re-enter.

## Test 10: Mixed review

- 5 subs in regulation time — permanent in IFAB Laws since 2022/23.
- 3 substitution opportunities, plus half-time which doesn't count.
- A match cannot start with fewer than 7 players per team.
- The Laws (1958), the World Cup debut (1970), the temporary COVID rule (2020) and its permanence (2022) arrived in that order.
- Concussion subs are additional permanent subs (1 per team), used for actual or suspected concussion.
- A substitute waits at the halfway line and only enters once the outgoing player has left and the referee has signalled.
- Red-carded players cannot be replaced. The team plays a man down.
- An unauthorised entry earns the substitute a caution and gives the opponents an indirect free kick.
- Up to 15 named substitutes since 2022 (raised from 12).
- Substitutions added to the Laws in 1958 — initially only 1 per match.

Sources: 

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