NFF Trains Referees, Clubs on 11 Changes to Football Laws

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Referees Commission has intensified training for referees and football clubs on 11 changes to the Laws of the Game ahead of the 2026/27 football season.
Chukwudi C. Chukwujekwu, Head of Technical Instructors and member of the NFF Referees Commission, said the changes affected 11 of the 17 Laws of the Game.
He said that the major amendments are  issues relating to players, substitutions, denial of obvious goal-scoring opportunities and time-wasting.
“Out of 17 Laws of the Game, 11 were touched. Some are minor, but we have major changes in Law 3, which is the players and everything about the players, and substitutions.
“We have major changes in Law 12, which is about denial of obvious goal-scoring opportunity that people call the last man. We have changes in Laws 14, 16 and 17,” Chukwujekwu said.
He said the changes were particularly aimed at reducing time-wasting and ensuring that teams are  properly punished for deliberately delaying the restart of play.
According to him, one of the new provisions requires a player who is being substituted to leave the field within 10 seconds.
“If the person doesn’t come out within 10 seconds, then the team will be punished. The person coming in does not enter.
“The punishment is one minute, but it could extend beyond one minute until the ball goes out of play,” he said.
Chukwujekwu explained that the rule was designed as a deterrent rather than an avenue to punish teams excessively.
He said where several players from the same team were delaying their substitutions; referees are expected to ensure that only one player was held back as punishment.
“The idea is to serve as a deterrent. What football is asking us to do is let two out of the three go in. Just hold one back so that the team plays with one less,” he said.
He said the commission had taken steps to ensure that clubs are also familiar with the new rules to minimise disagreements between teams and match officials.
“For the NPFL teams, we made an effort as a committee. We wrote to them and told them that these changes are many.
“We visited all 20 teams of the NPFL. We sent instructors to them to go and relay these messages, listen to their questions and listen to their concerns,” he said.
Chukwujekwu said the commission also planned to engage clubs in the Nigeria National League (NNL), Nigeria Women’s Football League (NWFL), Nationwide League One (NLO) and other competitions on the new provisions.
He added that the referee unit had been asked to communicate the changes to all states to ensure that referees and assessors across the country were adequately informed.
According to him, the amendments are part of global changes to football laws and were implemented during the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
“It’s a global thing. It actually started from the World Cup on June 11 this year. The kickoff date for the rest of the world is July 1.
“The World Cup started with it, so it’s a global thing,” he said.
Chukwujekwu said the commission’s engagement with clubs was intended to ensure that players, coaches and officials understood the new rules.
He said that this is to ensure that the changes did not become a source of unnecessary friction during matches.
He said referees would continue to receive clarification on areas where the implementation of the new laws could generate confusion.
Also speaking, Faith Irabor, Chairman of the NFF Development Committee, said the ongoing referee training had so far recorded significant progress.
Irabor said the fitness test was being followed by classroom sessions and practical exercises designed to ensure that referees could correctly apply the new laws during matches.
“This is just the preliminaries. They will now go to the class to do the theoretical parts.”
“Maybe tomorrow in the afternoon and evening, they will practice what they have been taught on the field of play, what we are expecting them to do when the league starts,” she said.
Irabor said the exercise was important because the league was scheduled to begin during the week, making it necessary for referees to be physically and technically ready.
She expressed confidence in the preparation so far, saying the focus was now on ensuring that successful referees translated what they had learnt into effective decision-making on the field.
“We have done a very good job. What is left now is for them to go out there and practice it,” Irabor said.
The commission said that combined fitness and theoretical and practical training would help improve the quality and consistency of officiating in Nigerian football.