FIFA Trials Kick-Ins and Daylight Offside in Youth Cup
FIFA tested three new rule changes at the Under-15s World Cup, including kick-ins replacing throw-ins and a daylight offside variant.
Updated on Nov. 3, 2026 in Soccer
FIFA trialled three rule changes at the Under-15s World Cup, replacing throw-ins with kick-ins and applying the offside rule only beyond marked lines 14 metres from the goal line. The competition was played eight-a-side across two 20-minute halves on a 68-by-47-metre pitch with full-size goals.
Why it matters
The trials reflect ongoing efforts to encourage attacking football and reduce controversial offside decisions. The daylight offside rule was previously trialled in the Canadian Premier League, where data showed fewer offside calls and more goals.
The Under-15s World Cup used eight-a-side matches across two 20-minute halves on a 68-by-47-metre pitch with full-size goals. Data presented to IFAB showed fewer offside calls and more goals after the Canadian Premier League trial, though a wider rollout remains unlikely.
The players
FIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association is the international governing body of football that organises the World Cup and sets the laws of the game.
Wenger
Arsène Wenger is a former Arsenal manager and FIFA's Chief of Global Football Development who proposed the daylight offside change.
IFAB
The International Football Association Board is the body responsible for determining and approving the Laws of the Game.
The details
Under the trialled rules, throw-ins were replaced by kick-ins, with players placing the ball on the ground and kicking it back into play, and managers could make unlimited substitutions. The daylight offside proposal, advanced by Wenger, would count an attacker as onside if any scoring part of the body was level with or behind the second-to-last defender.
Timeline
2026 season: daylight offside rule trialled in the Canadian Premier League
2026: Under-15s World Cup held in Baku, Azerbaijan, reaching the finals stage
2027: next edition to feature girls' teams
2028: Member Associations invited to enter both boys' and girls' Under-15 sides in two separate competitions
Season Trajectory
The Under-15s trials extend the daylight offside experiment first run in the 2026 Canadian Premier League season to youth football. Data from that league showing fewer offside calls and more goals has shaped how FIFA and IFAB weigh a wider change, even as limited backing from assessment panels keeps a broader rollout unlikely for now.
The kick-in replacement for throw-ins and unlimited substitutions change how youth matches are played and how coaches manage squads. Any future adoption of the daylight offside rule would alter how attackers and defensive lines are positioned in matches.
The takeaway
Rule experiments at youth level often preview changes that may later reach senior football, so watching how these trials perform offers a useful read on where the game is heading.
What happens next
The 2027 Under-15s World Cup will feature girls' teams, and from 2028 every Member Association will be invited to enter both boys' and girls' Under-15 sides.
Further reading
Explore more Soccer coverage to see how rule experiments like this one are shaping the global game.
