5 rule changes that have revolutionised modern football

Football is a sport that has been played for centuries now, and has gone through changes in ruling over the years to keep up with the times.

Here are the five biggest changes in rules in recent decades that have affected modern football and the way that it is played now.

1. Three points for a win

From the beginnings of football right up to the late 1980s, a win used to be worth two points, while a draw was one. The logic was simple. Two teams competed against each other, with the winner taking all. In case of a draw, the winnings would be split between the two participants.

However, with time, football’s administrators saw a slow drop in matchday audiences as teams became more defensive in the second halves of matches, sometimes making tacit agreements with each other and playing out games in the hope of a draw and one point gained.

And why wouldn’t they? Knowing that the threat of losing one point was far greater than the prospect of gaining another, many teams weren’t keen on playing for the win, with former Stoke manager Alan Durban once saying after a stale 0-0 draw that if viewers wanted entertainment, they could go and watch clowns.

Thereafter, in the 1980s, a decision was made by the FA to award an extra point for every win, so as to increase the value of a victory over settling for a draw. Thus, as the importance of a win overweighed that of a draw, more teams started playing a more attacking brand of football when scores were level, with studies indicating that the number of draws reduced and total goals in the second half saw a sharp rise after the ruling was adopted in some European leagues.