FIFA will hold the first official test of the offisde's 'Wenger Law'

After several twists and turns, FIFA will finally move forward with a formal test of the so-called "Wenger Act “, a modification in the offside criteria that will be implemented during the 2026 Canadian Premier League season, which is scheduled to start in April.

The initiative was promoted by Arsène Wenger, former Arsenal coach and current Director of Development of the governing body of world football. His proposal aims to redefine when an attacker should be sanctioned for a leading position: he will only be considered offside if his entire body is ahead of the penultimate defender, including the goalkeeper. At present, it is enough for a part of the body with which a goal can be converted to exceed the rival line to make the action invalid

.

The idea, originally proposed in 2020, had met with resistance on the International Football Association Board (IFAB), but was finally given the green light to be tested after evaluations and pilot experiences in youth tournaments in Sweden, Italy and

the Netherlands.

According to the first analyses, these tests showed an increase in the number of goals and a reduction in VAR review times. The change seeks to promote a more dynamic and offensive football, in line with other historic reforms of the rule.

It should be remembered that the last substantial modification in the interpretation of offside was in 1990, when the attacker was allowed to be in the same line as the penultimate defender. Much earlier, in 1925, it went from demanding three rivals to just two, a transformation that led to the creation of the W-M tactical system devised by

Herbert Chapman.

From Canada, they officially confirmed the test. “As part of our ongoing commitment to FIFA, we will test a modified interpretation of offside during the 2026 Canadian Premier League season,” said Laura Armstrong, Vice President of Communications and Business Integration at Canadian Soccer Media

and Entertainment.

"Innovation is a fundamental value of the league and these conversations reflect a shared interest in the continuous evolution of football,”

he added.

The experiment will mark the first professional-scale trial of reform and could lay the groundwork for a historic change in one of the most influential rules of the game.