The eyes of the soccer world will be on the Canadian Premier League in 2026, because the game will be played a little differently from anywhere else.
This year, the CPL will collaborate with FIFA and the International Football Association Board (IFAB) to host a trial of an alternative offside rule — commonly known as the 'daylight' rule — in order to evaluate a potential way to promote goalscoring.
“This is about positioning the Canadian Premier League at the forefront of innovation and contributing meaningfully to the global evolution of the game,” said James Johnson, Group CEO, Canadian Soccer Media & Entertainment and Commissioner, Canadian Premier League. “By working closely with FIFA and IFAB, we are proud to play a role in shaping the future of football while continuing to build a competition that reflects our ambition here in Canada.”
The CPL will be the first professional league in the world to trial the rule, which has been proposed by FIFA's Chief of Global Football Development Arsène Wenger.
The intent of the change is to provide an advantage to attacking players, who can now be considered onside if at least some part of their body (excluding the hands and arms) is in line with or behind the second-last defender. If there's a clear gap — that is, 'daylight' — between the attacker and defender, they'll be ruled offside.
"I think what FIFA is ultimately trying to assess here through this trial is the ability to have a more entertaining game, more attacking football," said Costa Smyrniotis, Vice President, Canadian Premier League.
"We've seen from FIFA in the past, continuous evaluation of the game and where the game is headed. Ultimately, any trial is to be able to look at how we better the game, for our fans and everybody who enjoys the sport. So how do we bring greater entertainment value in the stadium and outside the stadium? With this rule in particular that's being assessed, I think FIFA is coming in to look at, can we create more entertaining football through the flow of the game?"
In theory, the daylight offside rule could allow players to get in behind defensive lines more frequently, by making attacking runs earlier. It also arguably fits the spirit of the offside rule more; it's still illegal to be fully beyond the opponents' backline, but players won't as often be punished for a slightly mistimed movement.
Going hand-in-hand with the offside trial, of course, is the introduction of Football Video Support (FVS) in the CPL. The system, which will allow head coaches from either team to ask for reviews of certain plays, should help referees and assistants who are also getting used to the alternate rule.
"We really wanted to ensure, if you're going to do a trial, that you do it correctly. And FIFA's recommendation was to be able to bring in also an officiating technology to best support the trial," Smyrniotis explained.
He added: "For us it's really about increasing the entertainment value of the game, the fan engagement, and also providing a valuable tool for our officials to be able to utilitze through matches."
Johnson and Smyrniotis have both explained that the CPL is eager to be on the forefront of innovation in the sport, and the offside trial won't be the only difference in the game this season.
The CPL will also be one of the world's first competitions to enact the recently-approved IFAB amendments to the Laws of the Game, which are aimed at improving the efficiency and flow within a match.
Among those changes are time-limited substitutions — players now have just 10 seconds to leave the pitch when subbed off — and new guidelines for injury treatment. Players who receive treatment on the field will now be forced to leave the pitch and remain off it for a full minute.
All of those changes, Smyrniotis says, are intended to limit time-wasting, improve the flow of a game, and ultimately increase the entertainment value of the sport.
Naturally, the offside trial is going to generate some debate across the scocer world. Even within the league, players and coaches are forming opinions around how the game might evolve tactically with this in place.
The CPL is welcoming that conversation, though. The purpose of the trial is purely to test out the change, and evaluate its impact. The 112 regular season games, and five playoff matches, of the upcoming season will provide a solid sample size of a professional competition for FIFA to consider.
"With every trial there's a learning process," Smyrniotis said. T"here's going to be stuff that we thought we knew, and there's stuff that we are going to get to know throughout this whole process. We've just got to be open to the conversation.
"I think it's going to create some good feedback for FIFA in terms of the whole process, but at the same time for our fans and all our stakeholders, there's going to be a tremendous conversation centred around our competition."
It's bound to be a fascinating year in the CPL, no matter how the offside trial plays out.
From kickoff on April 4 all the way to November, Canada will be in the spotlight, all in service of improving the beautiful game.
