The International Football Association Board 1
Minutes 131st Annual General Meeting of the International Football Association Board Wembley Stadium, London 3 March 2017, 1.30pm
The International Football Association Board Münstergasse 9 8001 Zürich Switzerland T: +41 (0)44 245 1886 theifab.com
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ParticipantsTheFAGregClarke(Chairman) MartinGlenn(ChiefExecutive) DavidElleray(RefereeCommitteeChairman) NealeBarry(HeadofRefereeing) FIFAGianniInfantino(President) FatmaSamoura(SecretaryGeneral)ÁngelMaríaVillarLlona(VicePresident)AlejandroDominguez(VicePresident)HanyAboRida(MemberoftheCouncil)ZvonimirBoban(DeputyGeneralSecretary) MarcovanBasten(ChiefOfficerforTechnicalDevelopment) PierluigiCollina(RefereeCommitteeChairman)MassimoBusacca(HeadofRefereeing) ScottishFAAlanMcRae(President) RodPetrie(VicePresident) StewartRegan(ChiefExecutive) AndrewMcKinlay(ChiefOperatingOfficer)JohnFleming(HeadofRefereeOperations)
IrishFADavidMartin(President) JackGrundie(FirstDeputyPresident) CrawfordWilson(SecondDeputyPresident) PatrickNelson(ChiefExecutive) WilliamCampbell(HeadofCEOoffice) FAofWalesDavidGriffiths(President) JonathanFord(ChiefExecutive) DavidAlunJones(VicePresident) RayEllingham(RefereesManager) TheIFABLukasBrud(Secretary) OtherattendeesBoudienBroekhuis(TheIFAB)FabriceJouhaud(FIFA)MattiasGrafström(FIFA)TomGorissen(FIFA)NaoiseKing(FIFA)BrianAlexander(FIFA)
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I. WelcomeII. Chairman`sremarksIII. RollcallIV. ApprovaloftheagendaV. ApprovaloftheminutesofthelastmeetingThechairmanofthemeeting,GregClarke,welcomedeveryonetothe131stAGMofTheIFABandaskedMartinGlenn,ChiefExecutiveofTheFAtosayafewwords.
MartinGlennemphasisedtheshiftinTheIFAB`scultureoverthelast18monthsfromaratherclosedandconservativemind-settobeingopentochangeandtheuseoftechnology.
AmomentofsilencewasobservedforformerIFABmemberswhohadpassedawayinthepastyear.
Allpresidentsintroducedtheirdelegations.HavingagreedtherequestfromtheIrishFAtowithdrawitem2C,theagendawasapproved,asweretheminutesofthelastmeeting.
ThechairmanhandedovertoIFABSecretary,LukasBrud,andIFABTechnicalDirector,DavidElleray,totakemembersthroughtheagenda.
VI. Agendacontainingtheitemstobediscussedandenclosures1. Law3–ThePlayers
a. 4thsubstituteinextratime–Updateonexperimentsfromseveralcompetitions
Currently,experimentswitha4thsubstituteinextratimearebeingconductedincompetitionsorganisedbyFIFA,CONCACAF,CONMEBOL,TheFA,FAofWales,ScottishFA,GermanFAandtheDutchFA.
Anexperimentprotocolisbeingusedandtherewillbeananalysisoffeedbackandacomparisonwithcompetitionswhereonlythreesubstitutesarepermitted.
Competitionshavebeenaskedaboutthepotentialuseofa5thsubstituteinextratime.
Evidencewillbeavailableforthe2017ABM;adecisionwillbetakenatthe2018AGM.
NOVOTEREQUIREDAllmembersagreedtocontinuationoftheexperiment.
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2. Law4–ThePlayers’Equipmenta. ElectronicPerformanceandTrackingSystems(EPTS)
Sincethedecisiontakenin2015topermitElectronicPerformanceandTrackingSystems(EPTS)infootball,inparticularthewearingofsuchdevicesbyplayersonthefieldofplayduringamatch,FIFA,withthesupportofTheIFAB,hasconsultedwithexpertsinthisfield(fromassociations,clubs,leagues,industry,independenttestingbodiesetc.)onhowtodevelopqualitycriteriarangingfromtheminimumrequirements(safety)toagoldstandard.
Thefirststep,thedevelopmentofminimumrequirements/standards,isbeingfinalisedbasedonglobalsafetycriteriafordevicesusedinsport.
Asanextstep,basedontheminimumrequirements,FIFAwillcontinuedevelopingagoldstandardforprofessionaluseaspartofitsFootballQualityProgramme(FQP)andwillprovideaproposalatthenextABM,andsubsequentlyatthe2018AGM.
VOTEAllmembersapprovedtheproposedwordingtoincorporateminimumstandardsforEPTSdevicesintotheLawsoftheGame2017/18:
“Wherewearabletechnology(WT)aspartofelectronicperformanceandtrackingsystems(EPTS)isusedinmatchesplayedinanofficialcompetitionorganisedundertheauspicesofFIFA,confederationsornationalfootballassociations,thetechnologyattachedtotheplayer’sequipmentmustbeartheIMS(InternationalMatchStandard)mark:
ThismarkindicatesthatithasbeenofficiallytestedandmeetstheminimumsafetyrequirementsoftheInternationalMatchStandarddevelopedbyFIFAandapprovedbyTheIFAB.TheinstitutesconductingthetestsaresubjecttotheapprovalofFIFA.Thetransitionperiodrunsuntil31May2018.”
b. ElectroniccommunicationwithplayersandthetechnicalareaAdvancesintechnologyriskhavingaLawwhichdoesnotreflectthemodernworldandwhichcannotbeenforcedasitisnowalmostimpossibletopreventcoachesreceivinginformationinthetechnicalarea.However,itisveryimportantthatplayerscannotcommunicate(orbecontacted)electronically,althoughtheuseofcommunicationbyteamofficialsforplayerwelfareisimportant.
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VOTEAllmembersapprovedtheproposedwordingfortheLawsoftheGame2017/18:
“Players(includingsubstitutes/substitutedandsentoffplayers)arenotpermittedtowearoruseanyformofelectronicorcommunicationequipment(exceptwhereEPTSisallowed).Theuseofanyformofelectroniccommunicationbyteamofficialsisnotpermittedexceptwhereitdirectlyrelatestoplayerwelfareorsafety.”Inaddition,adetailedconsultationwithnationalFAsandotherstakeholderswillbeundertaklentoconsiderwhatinformationmaybecommunicatedto/fromthetechnicalareaandwhatissuesmayarisefromthetransmissionofsuchinformation.Inparticular,thefocusshouldmovetodealingwiththebehaviourresultingfromtheuseofelectronicequipmentratherthantryingtoban/preventit.VOTEAllmembersapprovedtheproposedconsultationwithfootballstakeholders.3. Law5–TheRefereeTemporaryDismissals(SinBins)
TheIFABhasallowedtemporarydismissalstobetrialledinUEFAdevelopmenttournamentssince2014.Theoriginalprotocol,wheresomecautions(YCs)arepunishedwithatemporarysuspension,hasbeenrefinedbyUEFAandTheIFAB,includingidentifying‘behavioural’offencessuitableforatemporarydismissal.
ManynationalFAsusetemporarydismissals(oftenforallYCs),primarilyatyouthandgrassrootslevels,eventhoughtheyarenotcurrentlypermittedwithintheLawsoftheGame.
VOTEAllmembersapprovedincludingTemporaryDismissalsinthe(extended)‘ModificationsoftheLaws’foryouth,veterans,disabilityandgrassrootsfootball,basedonthefollowingwordingintheLawsoftheGame2017/18:“…(thereferee)hasthepowertoshowyelloworredcardsand,wherecompetitionrulespermit,temporarilydismissaplayer,fromenteringthefieldatthestartofthematchuntilafterthematchhasended,includingduringthehalf-timeinterval,extratimeandkicksfromthepenaltymark.”
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Astemporarydismissalsmaybeusedforalloronlysomecautions(YCs)-usuallyrelatingtobehaviour-guidelineswillbeincludedinthe‘ModificationsoftheLawsoftheGame’sectionoftheLawsoftheGamebook.4. Law12–FoulsandmisconductDenyinganobviousgoal-scoringopportunity(DOGSO)The2016AGMapprovedatwo-yearexperimentwhereaDOGSOoffence,whichisanattempttoplaytheball,ispunishedwithacaution(YC)iftherefereeawardsapenaltykick.Reactionhasbeenpositivewithnoreportednegativityorsignificantdifficultyforrefereestoapplythenewwording.Evidencewillbecollectedandanalysedinthecomingyear.
Withoutchangingtheinterpretationofapplicationofthisprinciple,thefollowingclearerwordingfortheLawsoftheGame2017/18wasproposed:
“Whereaplayercommitsanoffenceagainstanopponentwhichdeniesanopponentanobviousgoal-scoringopportunityandtherefereeawardsapenaltykick,theoffenderiscautionediftheoffencewasanattempttoplaytheball;inallothercircumstances(e.g.holding,pulling,pushing,nopossibilitytoplaytheballetc.)theoffendingplayermustbesentoff.”VOTEAllmembersapproved:• continuationoftheexperimentforanotheryearwiththefinaldecisiontaken
atthe2018AGM• theamended(clearer)wording• extendingthephilosophytotheremovalofacaution(YC)forapenaltykick
awardedfora‘stoppingapromisingattack’iftheoffencewasanattempttoplaytheball.
5. LawsoftheGame2017/18a. Extensionofmodificationsbynationalfootballassociations(FAs)
TheIFABandtheLawsoftheGameshouldbeencouragingmorepeopletotakepartinfootball.Consequently,itwasunanimouslyagreedthatnationalFAsshouldbegivenmorefreedomtomodify‘organisational’Lawsfortheirdomesticfootball(exceptthehighestlevels)whentheybelievethatthiswillincreaseparticipationandenjoyment.
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Thisincreasedfreedomwillincluderemovingthedefinitionofyouthasu16andveteransas35+sothatnationalFAswillhavediscretiontodecidewhichage(s)aremostappropriatefortheirdomesticfootball.
NationalFAswillalsohavetheoptiontousedifferentmodificationsfordifferentcompetitions-thereisnorequirementtoapplythemuniversally(i.e.inalltheirdomesticcompeitions),butnoothermodificationsareallowed.
NationalFAswillbeaskedtoinformTheIFABoftheiruseofthesemodificationsasthisinformation;andespeciallythereason(s)whythemodificationsarebeingused,mayidentifydevelopmentideasandstrategieswhichTheIFABcansharewithothernationalFAs.TheIFABwillalsobeveryinterestedtohearaboutotherpotentialmodificationoftheLawsoftheGamewhichcouldincreaseparticipation,makefootballmoreattractiveandpromoteitsworldwidedevelopment.
Memberscommentedthatthisinitiativecouldhaveverybeneficialimpactsonthegamee.g.anincreasednumberofsubstitutionscouldleadtomuchgreaterparticipation.Ingeneral,itwasperceivedaspositivethat,byextendingthemodificationssection,thefocuswasmoreonmassparticipationinsteadofonlytheelitelevelofthegame.
VOTEAllmembersapprovedtheproposedwording:“Foryouth,veterans,disabilityandgrassroots(lowestlevels)football:• sizeofthefieldofplay• size,weightandmaterialoftheball• widthbetweenthegoalpostsandheightofthecrossbarfromtheground• durationofthetwo(equal)halvesofplay(andtwoequalhalvesofextratime)• theuseoftemporarydismissals(sinbins)forsome/allcautions• theuseofreturnsubstitutes
Inaddition,forallfootballexceptMenandWomencompetitionsinvolvingthe1stteamofclubsinthetopdivisionorsenior‘A’internationalteams:• thenumberofsubstitutionseachteamispermittedtouse,uptoamaximumof
five”
b. Lawchanges
The2016/17revisionoftheLawsoftheGamewaswell-receivedbut,aswithallmajorrevisions,asecond,follow-onstagehasbeennecessarytoextenditsprinciplesandtoaddclarifications.Inaddition,therehavebeenrequestsforadditionalordifferentwordingtoassisttranslationoftheLawsoftheGame.
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c. Changestotextforclarificationand/oreasiertranslation
TheLawchangesandLawclarificationsfor2017/18whicharethefinalstageofthemajorrevisionoftheLawsoftheGamewerepresented.
Theproposedchangerelatingtorespectingoffsidedecisionswaswithdrawnandinitsplacethephilosophy,alwaystorespectmatchofficials’decision,wasincludedinLaw5–TheReferee.
Theuseofartificialmaterialsforfieldmarkingsongrassfieldswasdebated.CurrentlyCanadaareusingthisandmembersagreedthatinprincipleitsusecouldbeapprovedprovideditdidnotcreateanydanger.Itwasagreedthatthesituationshouldbecloselymonitored.
Inaddition,membersapprovedtheproposedclarificationstoLaw11–Offside,whenthereisfoulonorbyaplayerinanoffsideposition,butemphasisedthatclearguidanceandcommunicationwillberequired.
VOTEAllproposedamendmentstotheLawsoftheGame2017/18wereapproved.
6. Strategy2017-2022a. OverallstrategyforthedevelopmentoftheLawsoftheGameb. Criteriaandtimelinesforevaluationofproposedchanges
TheIFABandFIFAhaveauniqueopportunitytousetheLawstotacklemanyoftheissuesandillnessesaffectingfootballandtopromoteabettergameoneveryfootballfieldintheworld,byastrategywhichfocusesonthreemainpillars:• fairnessandintegrity• universalityandinclusion• usingtechnologytobenefitthegameTheIFAB‘playfair!’strategyforthedevelopmentoftheLawsoftheGameisbasedontheachievementsofthelastthreeyearsandwillconsiderimportantareasintwotothree-yearcyclesbyinvolvingtheentirefootballworld.
TheinputofTheIFAB’sFootballandTechnicalAdvisoryPanels(TAP+FAP),widerconsultationwithnationalFAsandengagementwithexpertswillensurethattheLawsalwaysreflect‘whatfootballwants’.
Astructuredapproach,includingcriteriaandtimelines,hasbeendefinedtoevaluateandmanageproposedLawchangestopreventtoomuchchangeinashortperiodoftime.
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Thestrategy`sphilosophywasreceivedpositivelybythemembersanditwasnotedthatforsuccessfulimplementation,itwouldbecrucialtobedisciplinedandstayfocusedonthestrategicprioritiesandnotdeviateintootherareas.
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Allmembersapprovedtheoverallstrategy,theproposedcriteria,timelinesandprocessesforevaluatingproposedchangestotheLawsoftheGame.
c. PotentialLawchangesandtestsThisyear’schangescompletethemajortwo-yearrevisionoftheLawsoftheGame-onlythethirdmajorLawrevisioninIFABhistory.
Consequently,itwasproposedthatTheIFABshouldonlyconsiderlargescalerevisions(ifdeemednecessary)approximatelyevery10years.
Themaintopicsproposedforimmediatediscussionincludetheroleofthecaptain,players`behaviourandhandball.
Inaddition,potentialtesting,furthertotheongoingexperimentssuchasVARs,couldbeundertakenintooffsidetechnology,aneworderforkicksfromthepenaltymark,andmethodstoreducetime-wasting/increasingplayingtime.
Memberswelcomedthefocusonplayers`behaviourasitisalignedtowhatallstakeholderswantforfootballandcansettherightexampleforyoungpeople.
VOTEAllmembersapprovedtheproposedareasfordiscussionandthetestingoffuturepotentialchangestotheLawsoftheGame.7. VideoAssistantRefereesexperiment(VARs)
AdetailedVARupdatewaspresentedandmembersnotedtheconsiderableprogressthathasbeenmadesincethedecisionattheAGMinMarch2016toallowexperimentswithVARs.
Australia,Belgium,Brazil,CzechRep,France,Germany,Italy,Mexico,Netherlands,Portugal,QatarandUSAhavesigned/willsigncontractstobepartoftheexperimentandanumberofothercountriesarefollowingdevelopmentscloselyandhavestartedsomeofflineworkandreferee/VAReducation.TheIFABhasproducedprotocolswhicharecontainedinacomprehensiveImplementationHandbookwhicheveryonehasagreedtofollowstrictly.
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ThreeVARworkshopswereorganisedbyTheIFABfocusingonrefereeeducationandthetechnologysystems.Theyinvolveddiscussions,presentationsandpracticalsessions,withparticipantshavingdirectexperienceofusingtheVARtechnology.TheworkshopshaveenabledTheIFABtoachieveunanimityamongstallcountries/competitionorganiserstakingpartintheVARexperiment.
MemberswereremindedthatVARisonlyforCLEARERRORSinmatch-changingsituations(andseriousmissedincidents)namely:goals,penalty/nopenaltydecisions,directredcards(notsecondyellowcards)andmistakenidentity.
MassimoBusacca,FIFAHeadofRefereeing,sharedthekeyresultsoftheuseofVARsduringtheFIFAClubWorldCupinJapaninDecember2016.
Anextensiveinterimreportwillbeprovidedtothe2017ABMontheprogressmadeandwhetherornotitwillbefeasibletoapprovetheuseofVARsduringthe2018AGM.
Membersinquiredaboutthepracticalitiesoftherefereereviewarea;forexamplewhetheritwouldbepossible,inthefuturetohavemoremonitoringsystemsinplacetospeedupthereviewprocess,oreventoequiptherefereewithamobilesystemtoviewreplays.Itwasnotedthatallnecessaryresourcesandcostsarebeingbornebytheparticipatingpartiesandthesecostsvarydependingontheinfrastructurealreadyinplace.
NOVOTEREQUIREDAllmembersagreedtothecontinuationoftheexperimentandwereverypositiveabouttheprogresssofar.VII. Businessmatters
8. Financialmatters
a. AuditReport2014/15Theauditfortheyears2014and2015(combined)wasundertakenbyKPMGandsubmittedforapprovalatthebeginningofOctober2016.
ItisbasedonthefinancialcommitmentofFIFAtosupportTheIFABwithUSD1.2mforeachofthefinancialyears2015–2018(inclusive).Thereportcombines2014and2015astherewasnoIFABincome(orexpenses)registeredfor2014.
VOTEAllmembersapprovedtheAuditReport2014/15(combined)undertakenbyKPMGAG(Switzerland).
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b. AuditReport2016anddetailedfinancialstatements
PriceWaterhouseCoopersAGwasselectedastheindependentauditorsfor2016and2017andwillundertakethelimitedauditfor2016inMarch/April2017.
MemberswerepresentedthedetailedfinancialstatementstotallingexpensesofUSD1.3m.
Thefinalfinancereportwillbeprovidedtothemembersinwritingforapprovalandwillbemadeavailablepubliclythereafter.
VOTEAllmembersapprovedtheformalappointmentofPriceWaterhouseCoopersAG(Switzerland)asindependentAuditorsofTheIFABforfinancialyears2016and2017;thedetailedfinancialstatementsfor2016werealsoapproved.
c. Budget2017Memberswereinformedthatfortheyear2017TheIFABwillrequireanoperationalbudgetofUSD1.2m.AnysignificantexpensesrelatedtotheVARexperiment,ortootherdecisionstakenatthe2017AGM,willbediscussedwithFIFAandtheBritishmemberstoagreefinancing.
VOTEAllmembersapprovedtheproposedbudgetfor2017.9. GovernanceandAdministration
a. ProposedamendmentstoTheIFABStatutesTheStatutesoftheIFABhavebeenamendedtobemorealignedwiththerecentlyupdatedFIFAStatutes,andwithTheIFAB’snewOrganisationRegulations(ORs).
TherevisionwasdevelopedincooperationwithFIFALegalandincludesthefollowingcategoriesofamendments:amendmentstothecontentoftheIFABStatutes;amendmentsforaclearerandmorecompletedefinitionofTheIFAB’s(internal)organisationandprocesses(inaccordancewiththenewIFABORs);andamendmentsforlinguisticreasonsorforthesakeofcompletenessorclarity.
VOTEAllmembersapprovedtheproposedamendmentstotheStatutesofTheIFAB.
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b. Otherregulations
MemberswereinformedthattheOrganisationalRegulationsofTheIFABwouldfollowshortlyforfinalreviewandapprovalbytheBoardofDirectors.10. CompositionofAdvisoryPanels(TAP+FAP)
FootballAdvisoryPanel
ThemembersfortheFootballAdvisoryPanelofTheIFAB,includingthoseproposedbyeachconfederationwerepresented:AFC FaisalALDAKHEEL FormernationalteamplayerKUWAITAFC PARKJiSong FormernationalteamplayerKOREAREPUBLICCAF FlorentIBENGE CurrentnationalteamcoachCONGODRCAF KhalilouFADIGA FormernationalteamplayerSENEGALCONCACAF ShakaHISLOP Formernationalteamgoal-keeperTRINIDAD&TOBAGOCONCACAF RergisPACHECO FormernationalteamplayerMEXICOCONMEBOL GonzaloBELLOSO FormerplayerARGENTINACONMEBOL FranciscoMATURANA FormernationalplayerandinternationalcoachfromCOLOMBIAOFC IvanVICELICH FormernationalteamplayerNEWZEALANDUEFA Jean-FrançoisDOMERGUE FormernationalteamplayerFRANCEUEFA IoanLUPESCU FormernationalteamplayerROMANIAFIFA ZvonimirBOBAN FIFADeputySGFootballFIFA MarcoVANBASTEN FormernationalteamplayerTHENETHERLANDSFIFA CarolinaMORACE Formernationalwomen’steamplayerITALYSFA AnnaSIGNEUL Currentnationalwomen’steamcoachSCOTLANDFIFPro TBCIFAB GijsDEJONG DirectorFootballatKNVB
TechnicalAdvisoryPanel
ThemembersfortheTechnicalAdvisoryPanelofTheIFAB,includingthoseproposedbyeachconfederationwerepresented:AFC ShamsulMAIDIN HeadofRefereeingCAF CelestinNTAGUNGIRA MemberofCAFRefereeCommitteeCONCACAF BrianHALL HeadofRefereeingCONMEBOL WilsonSENEME HeadofRefereeingOFC KevinSTOLTENKAMP HeadofRefereeingUEFA CarlosVELASCOCARBALLO FormerFIFARefereeFIFA PierluigiCOLLINA ChairmanFIFARefereeCommittee/memberofTSCFIFA MassimoBUSACCA HeadofRefereeing/memberofTSCTheFA NealeBARRY HeadofRefereeing/memberofTSCFAW RayELLINGHAM RefereesManager/memberofTSCSFA JohnFLEMING HeadofRefereeOperations/memberofTSCIFA WilliamCAMPBELL HeadofCEOOffice/memberofTSCTheIFAB DavidELLERAY IFABTechnicalDirector/memberofTSC
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VOTEThemembersapprovedallcandidatesproposedforFAPandTAP.
11. Websiteandmediaplatforms
MemberswereupdatedaboutTheIFAB`suseofdigitalplatformstocommunicatewithitsstakeholders,includingtherecentadditionofadedicatedsectionforVARsonthewebsite.VIII. Anyotherbusiness
IX. NextmeetingsofIFABbodiesThechairmanthankedeveryonefortheirattendanceandcontributions.Memberswereinformedthatthe2018AGMwillbehostedbyFIFAinZürich,Switzerland.---London,April2017_________________________GregClarke(Chairmanofthemeeting)_________________________LukasBrud(IFABSecretaryandminutetaker)