New England Revolution hired MLS veteran Caleb Porter as the club’s new head coach. Porter will replace U.S. soccer legend Bruce Arena, who left the club midway through the 2023 campaign.

Porter has been out of a job since the end of 2022, being fired by Columbus Crew after the club missed out on MLS Cup playoffs in consecutive seasons.

Revolution considered a number of candidates for their head coaching vacancy, including high-profile names like Bob Bradley and Gio Savarese. However, according to New England’s sporting director Curt Onalfo, Porter separated himself from the pack with his leadership, tactical skills, and proven record of playing winning soccer in MLS.

“Caleb Porter is a gifted and respected coach with more than two decades of coaching experience who has delivered MLS Cup championships to both of his previous clubs. Caleb has consistently demonstrated the leadership and tactical acumen needed to build a winning team in our league,” Onalfo said in a statement. “We know he is the right person to lead our team, which we believe is already well positioned to compete for trophies.”

Caleb Porter had a brief playing career in MLS in the late 1990s but was forced to retire due to injuries. After coaching at the college level and with United States U23, Porter was hired as the head coach of Portland Timbers in 2013.

Porter spent five years with the Timbers, winning MLS Coach of the Year honors in his first season and bringing MLS Cup win to Portland in 2015. He left the franchise on a mutual agreement after the 2017 campaign and spent one year away from coaching before taking over Columbus Crew.

With Crew, Porter won another MLS Cup in 2020 and the Campeones Cup in 2021. He became just the sixth head coach in league history with multiple MLS Cup wins and only the third to do it with two different clubs.

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Leeds United announced on Monday that the team fired U.S. manager Jesse Marsch. The move comes after the Premier League side’s 1-0 loss to Nottingham Forrest on Sunday.

The loss dropped Leeds to 17th place on the standings, and they are now sitting just outside the relegation zone with Everton and Southampton breathing down their neck. It also means that the team now hasn’t won a game in Premier League in three months.

Leeds hired Jesse Marsch last February to replace Marcelo Bielsa and try and save the club from relegation. Marsch justified his hiring, leading Leeds to 17th place to end the season and managing to stay in the Premier League.

Entering the 2022-23 season, Leeds hoped to avoid the relegation battle and backed Marsch with several signings, including U.S. midfielders Brenden Aaronson and Tyler Adams. This resulted in a solid start to the new campaign, including wins over Chelsea and Liverpool, but the team couldn’t find consistency to escape the bottom of the standings.

Marsch, who previously also coached NY Red Bulls, Red Bull Salzburg, and RB Leipzig, leaves Leeds having compiled an 11-10-16 managerial record.

While Leeds United already had a deal with Marsch in place before sacking Bielsa, this time, they are expected to take some time before selecting a new manager. Several names are being mentioned, including Bielsa’s assistant Carlos Corberan, former Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino, and Ralph Hasenhuttl, ex-manager of Southampton.

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Barcelona and Liverpool might get creative in attempts to move on from players they deem surplus to requirements. According to multiple reports from Spain, the two European powerhouses are discussing a swap deal that would see Memphis Depay head to Anfield and Roberto Firmino making way to Camp Nou.

Depay was already close to joining Liverpool back in 2015 before choosing Manchester United. On the other hand, Firmino was linked with Barcelona this past summer, but the move fell through after Liverpool felt the offer from the Spanish club just wasn’t good enough.

Barca has been active in trying to find someone to get Memphis Depay off their hands the whole summer, with the Dutch international being close to joining Seria A giants Juventus. However, salary issues nixed the move, and the 28-year-old ended up stuck in Spain. He played only two games in La Liga and managed to score once.

“I played less than usual, and it’s not something I am used to,” Depay told reporters last week. “But here you know you are going to play, so I am extra motivated and thankful.”

Roberto Firmino, on the other hand, has been pushing for Liverpool exit during the transfer window after it became clear he will going to fall down the pecking order in favor of Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota, and the new arrival Darwin Nunez. The Brazilian ended up staying at Anfield after a lack of offers and has been playing quite well in 2022-23, scoring three goals and adding three assists in five Premier League matches.

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Brazilian attacking midfielder Philippe Coutinho managed to turn his loan stint with Aston Villa into a permanent transfer. The Premier League side confirmed the news on Thursday.

Coutinho joined Villa on a loan deal in January from La Liga giants Barcelona. He made an immediate impact, scoring four goals and assisting for three more in 16 appearances. This prompted the English club to try and make a deal permanent before some other suitor swoops in.

The two clubs initially agreed on a fee of around €40 million for a permanent transfer. Still, Villa apparently managed to get a discount thanks to the fact that Barca wanted Coutinho’s wages off their books. Reportedly, the transfer is now worth only €20 million, although the Catalan club is set to get 50 percent of any future transfer Coutinho might make. 

The move allows Barcelona and Philippe Coutinho to make a fresh start and perhaps forget their troubling past together. Barca signed Coutinho from Liverpool in 2018 for a fee of €160 million, which was the club’s record. The Brazilian was expected to be the next big star at Camp Nou, but things didn’t quite work out that way. Due to a combination of injuries, inconsistency, and loans, Coutinho would go on to play only 106 games with Barca, scoring 25 goals and dishing 14 assists.

Coutinho will now hope that he can resurrect his career in Premier League and possibly be an impactful player once again. On the other hand, Barca gets a big financial relief and can use the savings to fund other moves.

The post Philippe Coutinho’s Loan Move to Aston Villa Made Permanent appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Juventus midfielder Weston McKennie is the subject of yet another transfer rumor. This time, the La Liga giants Atletico Madrid emerged as a possible next destination for the U.S. international. According to reputable Spanish media outlet Mundo Deportivo, Juve is willing to offer McKennie to Atletico as part of the deal for striker Alvaro Morata.

Morata is currently on loan with Juventus, which has an option to make the move permanent in the summer. While Juve would like to do that, they are reluctant to pay the agreed price, which is thought to be around $37 million. The Seria A powerhouse is now considering various options to bring down the price, and including McKennie in the deal emerged as one of the more realistic ones.

If Atletico isn’t sold on McKennie, Juve would then be open to selling the 23-year-old player to some other club in order to raise funds for Morata. The USMT star shouldn’t have trouble attracting suitors, with clubs like Tottenham and West Ham enquiring about his services earlier.

McKennie failed to make an impact in Italy this season as injuries limited him to just 27 games in all competitions. Since arriving at Juventus in 2020 from Schalke 04, he made a total of 74 appearances, scoring 10 goals and dishing three assists.

The post Juve Consider Offering USMNT’s Weston McKennie to Atletico for Alvaro Morata appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Expect Major League Soccer to continue attracting big soccer names in the future. One of them could be Paris Saint-Germain’s star forward Neymar because the Brazilian recently stated he would love to play in the United States in the future.

During a recent appearance on Fenômenos Podcast, hosted by legendary Brazil striker Ronaldo, Neymar was asked whether he intends to play again in his native country before he retires. While the 30-year-old wasn’t overly optimistic about this scenario, saying he has “some doubts about that,” he did reveal one of his preferred future stops. 

“I’d love to play in the U.S., actually,” Neymar told Ronaldo. “I’d love to play there at least for a season.”

Asked to elaborate on his comments, Neymar jokingly said he’s attracted by the shorter seasons in the MLS that would allow him to “play many more years.”

“Their season is shorter, so I’d get three months’ vacation,” he added.

You can check out the full episode of Fenômenos Podcast featuring Neymar below.

While there is certainly a possibility of Neymar coming to MLS, his arrival shouldn’t be expected anytime soon. He has a contract with PSG that runs until the summer of 2025 and makes him one of the best-paid athletes in the world, something teams in the United States couldn’t possibly match. Still, his comments, alongside Toronto FC’s recent capture of Napoli’s star Lorenzo Insigne, show that MLS is becoming a reputable league and that its popularity will only grow in the future.

The post PSG’s Star Forward Neymar Would “Love to Play in the U.S.” appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Barcelona’s poor form so far in 2021-22 will reportedly prompt the La Liga powerhouse to make some additions to their squad during the January transfer window. However, in order to have money to spend on transfers, the Spanish club will have to offload some players and one of them might be USMNT’s star right back Sergino Dest.

According to ESPN, Barcelona will listen to offers for Dest in January and are prepared to let the 21-year-old leave if they receive a proper offer. The sources close to the situation say that the U.S. international is valued at Camp Nou but that the club also views him as one of the players whom they could move the fastest.

If Dest actually becomes available, expect several high-profile clubs to be in play for his signature. The first that comes to mind is Bayern Munich, who already had its sights on the American previously. The Bundesliga giants tried to acquire Dest while he was with Ajax a few years ago, and even made a move for the player this summer but saw their loan offer rejected by Barca.

Sergino Dest emerged as a mainstay for Barcelona on the right side since arriving in 2020. He played 57 games in all competitions while scoring three goals and providing four assists and helping Barca win Copa del Rey last season.

Barca would like to move on from several other players, but that is proving to be quite a challenge. The likes of Philippe Coutinho and Samuel Umtiti have been on the transfer list for a while now but the offers are lacking due to their high salaries.

The Catalan club is currently seventh in La Liga and finds itself 16 points behind leaders and their bitter rivals Real Madrid.

The post Barca Will Listen to Offers for USMNT’s Sergino Dest in January appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Seria A side Juventus would be happy to keep striker Alvaro Morata on board after his two-year loan from Atletico Madrid expires. But only if that comes at the right price.

The original loan deal between the two clubs contains a $40 million clause that would make Morata’s move to Juve permanent. However, the Italian club believes that would be overpaying for the 29-year-old and is currently trying to negotiate a discount with Atletico, according to Mundo Deportivo.

Juventus initially paid around $23 million to Atletico for the loan deal in 2020. Since then, the Spain international has enjoyed a fine form and scored 23 goals in 53 games. He started the 2021-22 season in a solid rhythm and has three goals and an assist in all competitions.

The thing that Juve is counting on with their discount proposal is that Atletico probably doesn’t want to get Morata back. The La Liga side already has solidified its attack and probably wouldn’t have room for another striker. Also, Morata never really impressed while playing at Wanda Metropolitano.

The only flaw to Juventus’ plan might be the interest of other clubs. According to recent reports, Morata has several suitors who are ready to make a move for him if he doesn’t stay in Italy. One of them is Tottenham Hotspur, who views him as a fill-in in case Harry Kane leaves the club.

The post Juventus Trying to Get a Discount on Alvaro Morata appeared first on SportzBonanza.

France Football, the group which organizes and awards the prestigious Ballon d’Or prize for the top soccer player in the world, has decided that it will not award a trophy for the first time in its long history.

Since 1956, the Ballon d’Or has been awarded to the top player in the world according to the organization’s decision. Considered the most prestigious individual prize in the sport, it has been won by legends such as Lionel Messi, Franz Beckenbauer, and Ronaldo.

Messi, the reigning title-winner, will have to look to 2021 to win another trophy due to the “exceptional circumstances” caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced France Football to call off this year’s prize.

The organization simply felt that, due to the long break experienced from March to May in the sport, that it would have been impossible to make a fair decision as to who had been the best player in the world.

Some of the favorites for the award had included Messi, Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski, and Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo.

Instead, the world’s biggest starts will have to instead wait for next summer in order to see who the world’s best player is after an unprecedented and abnormal 2020.

The post 2020 Ballon d’Or to be Cancelled appeared first on SportzBonanza.

FIFA, the international governing body of association football, has introduced a new change in the game’s rules that will allow for teams to stay fresh during the ramped-up schedules that will become common after leagues get back underway due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

FIFA has announced that, until the end of the calendar year 2020, teams will be allowed to make five substitutions per match. This is an increase over the three substitutions that have traditionally been allowed per team, per match.

This increase in the number of available substitutions is meant to keep players fresh and injury-free as they begin to play more games due to the compressed schedules caused by the absence of games since early March in most leagues.

Soccer leagues are slowly beginning to formulate plans to return to action, with major leagues such as Germany’s Bundesliga and Spain’s La Liga planning to return in May or June.

Leagues will be forced to play at least two games per week during the summer in order to accommodate the number of games that will need to be completed. This, in combination with higher summer temperatures, would make it difficult for the three substitution rule to be realistic.

So, FIFA will grant teams some extra flexibility and allow them to make this change in order to keep their players fresher until things get back to normal.

The post FIFA: Teams Will Be Allowed 5 Substitutions Per Match When Soccer Returns appeared first on SportzBonanza.

New England Revolution hired MLS veteran Caleb Porter as the club’s new head coach. Porter will replace U.S. soccer legend Bruce Arena, who left the club midway through the 2023 campaign.

Porter has been out of a job since the end of 2022, being fired by Columbus Crew after the club missed out on MLS Cup playoffs in consecutive seasons.

Revolution considered a number of candidates for their head coaching vacancy, including high-profile names like Bob Bradley and Gio Savarese. However, according to New England’s sporting director Curt Onalfo, Porter separated himself from the pack with his leadership, tactical skills, and proven record of playing winning soccer in MLS.

“Caleb Porter is a gifted and respected coach with more than two decades of coaching experience who has delivered MLS Cup championships to both of his previous clubs. Caleb has consistently demonstrated the leadership and tactical acumen needed to build a winning team in our league,” Onalfo said in a statement. “We know he is the right person to lead our team, which we believe is already well positioned to compete for trophies.”

Caleb Porter had a brief playing career in MLS in the late 1990s but was forced to retire due to injuries. After coaching at the college level and with United States U23, Porter was hired as the head coach of Portland Timbers in 2013.

Porter spent five years with the Timbers, winning MLS Coach of the Year honors in his first season and bringing MLS Cup win to Portland in 2015. He left the franchise on a mutual agreement after the 2017 campaign and spent one year away from coaching before taking over Columbus Crew.

With Crew, Porter won another MLS Cup in 2020 and the Campeones Cup in 2021. He became just the sixth head coach in league history with multiple MLS Cup wins and only the third to do it with two different clubs.

The post New England Revolution Hire Caleb Porter as Their New Head Coach appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Leeds United announced on Monday that the team fired U.S. manager Jesse Marsch. The move comes after the Premier League side’s 1-0 loss to Nottingham Forrest on Sunday.

The loss dropped Leeds to 17th place on the standings, and they are now sitting just outside the relegation zone with Everton and Southampton breathing down their neck. It also means that the team now hasn’t won a game in Premier League in three months.

Leeds hired Jesse Marsch last February to replace Marcelo Bielsa and try and save the club from relegation. Marsch justified his hiring, leading Leeds to 17th place to end the season and managing to stay in the Premier League.

Entering the 2022-23 season, Leeds hoped to avoid the relegation battle and backed Marsch with several signings, including U.S. midfielders Brenden Aaronson and Tyler Adams. This resulted in a solid start to the new campaign, including wins over Chelsea and Liverpool, but the team couldn’t find consistency to escape the bottom of the standings.

Marsch, who previously also coached NY Red Bulls, Red Bull Salzburg, and RB Leipzig, leaves Leeds having compiled an 11-10-16 managerial record.

While Leeds United already had a deal with Marsch in place before sacking Bielsa, this time, they are expected to take some time before selecting a new manager. Several names are being mentioned, including Bielsa’s assistant Carlos Corberan, former Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino, and Ralph Hasenhuttl, ex-manager of Southampton.

The post Leeds United Fire U.S. Manager Jesse Marsch appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Barcelona and Liverpool might get creative in attempts to move on from players they deem surplus to requirements. According to multiple reports from Spain, the two European powerhouses are discussing a swap deal that would see Memphis Depay head to Anfield and Roberto Firmino making way to Camp Nou.

Depay was already close to joining Liverpool back in 2015 before choosing Manchester United. On the other hand, Firmino was linked with Barcelona this past summer, but the move fell through after Liverpool felt the offer from the Spanish club just wasn’t good enough.

Barca has been active in trying to find someone to get Memphis Depay off their hands the whole summer, with the Dutch international being close to joining Seria A giants Juventus. However, salary issues nixed the move, and the 28-year-old ended up stuck in Spain. He played only two games in La Liga and managed to score once.

“I played less than usual, and it’s not something I am used to,” Depay told reporters last week. “But here you know you are going to play, so I am extra motivated and thankful.”

Roberto Firmino, on the other hand, has been pushing for Liverpool exit during the transfer window after it became clear he will going to fall down the pecking order in favor of Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota, and the new arrival Darwin Nunez. The Brazilian ended up staying at Anfield after a lack of offers and has been playing quite well in 2022-23, scoring three goals and adding three assists in five Premier League matches.

The post Barcelona and Liverpool Plotting Memphis Depay for Roberto Firmino Swap appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Brazilian attacking midfielder Philippe Coutinho managed to turn his loan stint with Aston Villa into a permanent transfer. The Premier League side confirmed the news on Thursday.

Coutinho joined Villa on a loan deal in January from La Liga giants Barcelona. He made an immediate impact, scoring four goals and assisting for three more in 16 appearances. This prompted the English club to try and make a deal permanent before some other suitor swoops in.

The two clubs initially agreed on a fee of around €40 million for a permanent transfer. Still, Villa apparently managed to get a discount thanks to the fact that Barca wanted Coutinho’s wages off their books. Reportedly, the transfer is now worth only €20 million, although the Catalan club is set to get 50 percent of any future transfer Coutinho might make. 

The move allows Barcelona and Philippe Coutinho to make a fresh start and perhaps forget their troubling past together. Barca signed Coutinho from Liverpool in 2018 for a fee of €160 million, which was the club’s record. The Brazilian was expected to be the next big star at Camp Nou, but things didn’t quite work out that way. Due to a combination of injuries, inconsistency, and loans, Coutinho would go on to play only 106 games with Barca, scoring 25 goals and dishing 14 assists.

Coutinho will now hope that he can resurrect his career in Premier League and possibly be an impactful player once again. On the other hand, Barca gets a big financial relief and can use the savings to fund other moves.

The post Philippe Coutinho’s Loan Move to Aston Villa Made Permanent appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Juventus midfielder Weston McKennie is the subject of yet another transfer rumor. This time, the La Liga giants Atletico Madrid emerged as a possible next destination for the U.S. international. According to reputable Spanish media outlet Mundo Deportivo, Juve is willing to offer McKennie to Atletico as part of the deal for striker Alvaro Morata.

Morata is currently on loan with Juventus, which has an option to make the move permanent in the summer. While Juve would like to do that, they are reluctant to pay the agreed price, which is thought to be around $37 million. The Seria A powerhouse is now considering various options to bring down the price, and including McKennie in the deal emerged as one of the more realistic ones.

If Atletico isn’t sold on McKennie, Juve would then be open to selling the 23-year-old player to some other club in order to raise funds for Morata. The USMT star shouldn’t have trouble attracting suitors, with clubs like Tottenham and West Ham enquiring about his services earlier.

McKennie failed to make an impact in Italy this season as injuries limited him to just 27 games in all competitions. Since arriving at Juventus in 2020 from Schalke 04, he made a total of 74 appearances, scoring 10 goals and dishing three assists.

The post Juve Consider Offering USMNT’s Weston McKennie to Atletico for Alvaro Morata appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Expect Major League Soccer to continue attracting big soccer names in the future. One of them could be Paris Saint-Germain’s star forward Neymar because the Brazilian recently stated he would love to play in the United States in the future.

During a recent appearance on Fenômenos Podcast, hosted by legendary Brazil striker Ronaldo, Neymar was asked whether he intends to play again in his native country before he retires. While the 30-year-old wasn’t overly optimistic about this scenario, saying he has “some doubts about that,” he did reveal one of his preferred future stops. 

“I’d love to play in the U.S., actually,” Neymar told Ronaldo. “I’d love to play there at least for a season.”

Asked to elaborate on his comments, Neymar jokingly said he’s attracted by the shorter seasons in the MLS that would allow him to “play many more years.”

“Their season is shorter, so I’d get three months’ vacation,” he added.

You can check out the full episode of Fenômenos Podcast featuring Neymar below.

While there is certainly a possibility of Neymar coming to MLS, his arrival shouldn’t be expected anytime soon. He has a contract with PSG that runs until the summer of 2025 and makes him one of the best-paid athletes in the world, something teams in the United States couldn’t possibly match. Still, his comments, alongside Toronto FC’s recent capture of Napoli’s star Lorenzo Insigne, show that MLS is becoming a reputable league and that its popularity will only grow in the future.

The post PSG’s Star Forward Neymar Would “Love to Play in the U.S.” appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Barcelona’s poor form so far in 2021-22 will reportedly prompt the La Liga powerhouse to make some additions to their squad during the January transfer window. However, in order to have money to spend on transfers, the Spanish club will have to offload some players and one of them might be USMNT’s star right back Sergino Dest.

According to ESPN, Barcelona will listen to offers for Dest in January and are prepared to let the 21-year-old leave if they receive a proper offer. The sources close to the situation say that the U.S. international is valued at Camp Nou but that the club also views him as one of the players whom they could move the fastest.

If Dest actually becomes available, expect several high-profile clubs to be in play for his signature. The first that comes to mind is Bayern Munich, who already had its sights on the American previously. The Bundesliga giants tried to acquire Dest while he was with Ajax a few years ago, and even made a move for the player this summer but saw their loan offer rejected by Barca.

Sergino Dest emerged as a mainstay for Barcelona on the right side since arriving in 2020. He played 57 games in all competitions while scoring three goals and providing four assists and helping Barca win Copa del Rey last season.

Barca would like to move on from several other players, but that is proving to be quite a challenge. The likes of Philippe Coutinho and Samuel Umtiti have been on the transfer list for a while now but the offers are lacking due to their high salaries.

The Catalan club is currently seventh in La Liga and finds itself 16 points behind leaders and their bitter rivals Real Madrid.

The post Barca Will Listen to Offers for USMNT’s Sergino Dest in January appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Seria A side Juventus would be happy to keep striker Alvaro Morata on board after his two-year loan from Atletico Madrid expires. But only if that comes at the right price.

The original loan deal between the two clubs contains a $40 million clause that would make Morata’s move to Juve permanent. However, the Italian club believes that would be overpaying for the 29-year-old and is currently trying to negotiate a discount with Atletico, according to Mundo Deportivo.

Juventus initially paid around $23 million to Atletico for the loan deal in 2020. Since then, the Spain international has enjoyed a fine form and scored 23 goals in 53 games. He started the 2021-22 season in a solid rhythm and has three goals and an assist in all competitions.

The thing that Juve is counting on with their discount proposal is that Atletico probably doesn’t want to get Morata back. The La Liga side already has solidified its attack and probably wouldn’t have room for another striker. Also, Morata never really impressed while playing at Wanda Metropolitano.

The only flaw to Juventus’ plan might be the interest of other clubs. According to recent reports, Morata has several suitors who are ready to make a move for him if he doesn’t stay in Italy. One of them is Tottenham Hotspur, who views him as a fill-in in case Harry Kane leaves the club.

The post Juventus Trying to Get a Discount on Alvaro Morata appeared first on SportzBonanza.

France Football, the group which organizes and awards the prestigious Ballon d’Or prize for the top soccer player in the world, has decided that it will not award a trophy for the first time in its long history.

Since 1956, the Ballon d’Or has been awarded to the top player in the world according to the organization’s decision. Considered the most prestigious individual prize in the sport, it has been won by legends such as Lionel Messi, Franz Beckenbauer, and Ronaldo.

Messi, the reigning title-winner, will have to look to 2021 to win another trophy due to the “exceptional circumstances” caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced France Football to call off this year’s prize.

The organization simply felt that, due to the long break experienced from March to May in the sport, that it would have been impossible to make a fair decision as to who had been the best player in the world.

Some of the favorites for the award had included Messi, Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski, and Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo.

Instead, the world’s biggest starts will have to instead wait for next summer in order to see who the world’s best player is after an unprecedented and abnormal 2020.

The post 2020 Ballon d’Or to be Cancelled appeared first on SportzBonanza.

FIFA, the international governing body of association football, has introduced a new change in the game’s rules that will allow for teams to stay fresh during the ramped-up schedules that will become common after leagues get back underway due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

FIFA has announced that, until the end of the calendar year 2020, teams will be allowed to make five substitutions per match. This is an increase over the three substitutions that have traditionally been allowed per team, per match.

This increase in the number of available substitutions is meant to keep players fresh and injury-free as they begin to play more games due to the compressed schedules caused by the absence of games since early March in most leagues.

Soccer leagues are slowly beginning to formulate plans to return to action, with major leagues such as Germany’s Bundesliga and Spain’s La Liga planning to return in May or June.

Leagues will be forced to play at least two games per week during the summer in order to accommodate the number of games that will need to be completed. This, in combination with higher summer temperatures, would make it difficult for the three substitution rule to be realistic.

So, FIFA will grant teams some extra flexibility and allow them to make this change in order to keep their players fresher until things get back to normal.

The post FIFA: Teams Will Be Allowed 5 Substitutions Per Match When Soccer Returns appeared first on SportzBonanza.