UEFA Has Recently Confirmed an Expansion of Teams: What Do You Need to Know?

As the Euro 2020 approaches, various developments have unfolded due to the necessity of having to provide a safe environment for supporters. Moreover, due to the current extraordinary circumstances, UEFA is creating a handful of new, special rules.

In fact, UEFA is allowing a number of exceptions to happen during the Euro Championship happening this year. A recent exception that UEFA is allowing for the Euro is the expansion of the teams that are participating in the championship.

Instead of the usual 23 players in a team, teams will now be able to have 26 players. Usually, teams have 11 players on the field and 12 substitutes. With this new format, there’ll be 15 substitutes. However, despite the expansion, teams will only be allowed 23 players for each individual match.

This is due to the IFAB’s (International Football Association Board) Laws of the Game permitting only up to a maximum of 12 substitutes per match. However, this number also includes and thus allows teams to have up to 3 goalkeepers.

The reason for enacting this exception is due to the current COVID-19 pandemic. UEFA enacted this exception with the intention of alleviating any situations when the participating teams find themselves short on players due to positive COVID-19 tests and quarantine measures.

This, hopefully, should ensure the smooth running of the tournament. If you’re going to be playing any bets on the Euro Championship, it’ll do you well to know about this team expansion. Moreover, it’s also a good idea to know which players have been chosen to represent the teams.

[no_toc]

How Is This Rule Going to Work? & Is There Anything Else You Should Know?

Essentially, teams are able to replace their players for as many times as they need in cases of ‘serious injury or illness’. This will be after the players have been confirmed on the 1st of June. However, these replacements need to be ‘medically certified’, according to UEFA.

Head coaches are able to replace players prior to the first match with UEFA’s approval. Of course, UEFA is considering COVID-19 positive players as well as players who have quarantined due to exposure to COVID-19 as ‘cases of serious illness’.

However, this comes with a caveat: according to UEFA, replaced players ‘cannot be re-added to the squad’. On the other hand, teams freely replace goalkeepers during the tournament. This applies even if there are other goalkeepers available to play.

Needless to say, this can only be done in the case that the goalkeeper is physically unable to play. Finally, teams have also been granted up to 5 substitutes per game, another decision taken due to the pandemic.