FIFA approves 26-man squads for 2022 World Cup as teams will have three extra players in Qatar. FIFA has announced that World Cup squads will be expanding to 26 players, up from the normal 23. The decision came from the Bureau of the FIFA Council – composed of FIFA president Gianni Infantino and the six confederation presidents. This was an expected move after the International Football Association Board allowed five subs to be a permanent addition to the laws of the game earlier this month. The deadline for setting the final 26 players for the World Cup will be on November 13.
How does this impact the United States?
In our most recent roster prediction, I touched on the versatility that the United States has available to them, and in using five subs, Berhalter can change the entire gameplan in one substitute window. Speaking of substitute windows. This year’s World Cup in Qatar will see the standard 23-man squads increasing to 26-man as FIFA have just approved the decision. If the squads are going to be bigger then it needs to be a situation where everybody is able to change on a match day said Southgate. I think everybody has to be available for all the games.
Why have FIFA changed the rules?
The COVID-19 pandemic also played a role in the decision due to its disruptive effects on squads before and during tournaments. World Cup squad submission deadline. All 32 countries competing in the tournament must submit their final squads by October 20 which is 30 days before the first match. A total of five cities, Lusall, Al Khor, Al Rayyan, Al Wakrah and Doha will host the event in eight stadiums. The next World Cup in 2026 will see the total teams increase to 48. Since France hosted the tournament in 1998, the World Cup has always featured 32 teams.
Equipment Regulations for FIFA competitions
Following an in-depth review of the 2015 edition of the FIFA Equipment Regulations, which considered best practices in football and selected sports industry regulations, whilst also taking into account relevant provisions of the Laws of the Game and other FIFA regulations, the Bureau has decided to apply changes for the 2022 edition.The updated Equipment Regulations are available on In December 2020, as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bureau decided to cancel the 2021 edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup™ and appointed the Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI) to host the competition in 2023.