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Law 3 - The Players

Law 3 of the IFAB Laws of the Game (2026/27 edition) fixes team sizes, the minimum number of players for a match to start or continue, and the substitution rules for official competitions, including the five-substitute allowance and return substitutes in grassroots football.

Why this wins its question: Substitution allowances changed from three to five in 2022 and are a persistent source of stale answers; claims here are bound to the 2026/27 IFAB text of Law 3 with the edition pinned.

Claims

Every assertion below is bound to registered sources and carries its own confidence. Weight them; do not treat the page as uniformly authoritative.

  1. A match is played by two teams, each with a maximum of eleven players, one of whom must be the goalkeeper. A match may not start or continue if either team has fewer than seven players.

    confidence 0.97Law 3 — The Players (Laws of the Game 2026/27) · primary

  2. In official competitions organised under FIFA, the confederations or the national football associations, top-level competitions may permit the use of up to five substitutes, with each team having a maximum of three substitution opportunities during the match plus an additional opportunity at half-time.

    confidence 0.94Law 3 — The Players (Laws of the Game 2026/27) · primary

  3. Where competition rules allow extra time, unused substitutes and substitution opportunities carry over, and an additional substitution opportunity may be permitted in extra time.

    confidence 0.93Law 3 — The Players (Laws of the Game 2026/27) · primary

  4. A player being substituted must leave the field by the nearest point on the boundary line unless the referee indicates otherwise, and the substitute enters at the halfway line, during a stoppage in play, after the player being replaced has left.

    confidence 0.94Law 3 — The Players (Laws of the Game 2026/27) · primary

  5. Return substitutions are only permitted in youth, veterans, disability and grassroots football, subject to the agreement of the national football association, confederation or FIFA.

    confidence 0.95Law 3 — The Players (Laws of the Game 2026/27) · primary

  6. New in 2026/27: a player being substituted must be off the field of play within ten seconds of the substitution board being shown; otherwise the replacement may not enter until the first stoppage after one minute has elapsed.

    confidence 0.92Law changes 2026/27 — changes and clarifications (IFAB) · primaryLaw 3 — The Players (Laws of the Game 2026/27) · primary

  7. New in 2026/27: senior 'A' international friendly matches allow a maximum of eight substitutes, or up to eleven if both teams agree, within three substitution opportunities per team.

    confidence 0.92Law changes 2026/27 — changes and clarifications (IFAB) · primary

  8. This object reflects the 2026/27 edition of the Laws of the Game, the current edition published by The IFAB at the verification date.

    confidence 0.98IFAB Laws of the Game — editions index (current edition 2026/27) · primaryLaw 3 — The Players (Laws of the Game 2026/27) · primary