English football enters the 2026-27 campaign with a raft of new laws aimed squarely at cutting timewasting and increasing the amount of actual football played during matches. The changes, first trialled at the World Cup, will apply from the EFL's opening weekend and Sunday's Community Shield between Arsenal and Manchester City, right through to the Premier League and grassroots Sunday league football - with the exception of VAR, which remains confined to professional competitions.
The reforms produced encouraging results on the global stage. At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the ball was in play for an average of 58 minutes and three seconds per match, or 56.86% of total playing time. This summer, that figure rose to 58 minutes and 16 seconds, but with significantly less stoppage time added, pushing the in-play percentage up to 60.43%.
Among the most notable changes is a countdown system for goal-kicks and throw-ins. Any deliberate delay to a restart - including leaving the ball on a cone or dropping it for a teammate - can trigger a five-second countdown, signalled by the referee's whistle and a visible arm gesture. If the player fails to act in time, the throw-in is awarded to the opposition. Goalkeepers who stall over goal-kicks late in matches can now be punished with a corner for the opposing side.
Substitutions have also been tightened. Players being replaced now have just 10 seconds to leave the pitch at the nearest point. Failure to do so means the substitute cannot enter for at least a minute, forcing the team to play short-handed. Middlesbrough's Will Lankshear became an early example of this rule in action during a Carabao Cup tie against Wrexham, when he jogged off slowly while celebrating with fans after scoring, despite manager Kim Hellberg urging him to hurry. As a result, substitute Fin Cartwright was barred from entering immediately.