Coronavirus: FIFA proposes permitting five substitutions per match amid backlog
FIFA has proposed that teams will be allowed to use five substitutes per match due to a congested schedule when competitions resume.
The coronavirus pandemic has brought the vast majority of leagues to a halt and the Eredivisie is among those to have been cancelled.
Teams are facing a fixture pile-up when they finally return to action and FIFA hopes to ease players' workload by permitting an additional two changes during a match, or six substitutions in total if games go to extra time.
Organisers would have the option to implement the new temporary rule until the end of next season, while it would also apply to national team matches up to and including December 31, 2021.
A spokesperson for the world governing body said: "When competitions resume, such competitions are likely to face a congested match calendar with a higher-than-normal frequency of matches played in consecutive weeks.
"Safety of the players is one of FIFA's main priority then. One concern in this regard is that the higher-than-normal frequency of matches may increase the risk of potential injuries due to a resulting player overload.
"In light of this and in light of the unique challenge faced globally in delivering competitions according to the originally foreseen calendar, FIFA proposes that a larger number of substitutions be temporarily allowed at the discretion of the relevant competition organiser.
"In competitions where less than five substitutions are currently allowed, each team would now be given the possibility to use up to five substitutions during the match, with the possibility of an additional substitution remaining during extra time, where relevant."