The 2026 World Cup will have some new rules and regulations
Think of the heartbreak of a saved penalty that gets bundled in on the rebound, or the fury when a player walks for a soft second yellow card with no way back.
Now, football lawmakers want to change moments like these forever, just in time for the biggest World Cup ever, scheduled to take place in the United States, Canada, and Mexico in June 2026.
The International Football Association Board (IFAB), which writes the Laws of the Game, is weighing in on drastic tweaks to key rules that could shape how the next World Cup is played.
One of the boldest proposals?
Scrapping penalty rebounds for non-shootout penalties
If a penalty is saved or hits the woodwork, play would stop immediately, ending the chaos of follow-up tap-ins that have turned countless World Cup moments on their head.
The aim is to put the full pressure back on the taker, one chance, one shot.
VAR, football’s biggest modern rule, could also get an upgrade.
Introduced at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, Video Assistant Referees (VAR) were designed to fix “clear and obvious errors” on goals, penalties, straight reds, and mistaken identity.
Since then, VAR has awarded more than 20% more penalties in top tournaments but has often sparked fresh debates about where its limits lie.
Now, IFAB wants to push that line further by letting VAR check second yellow cards, which are still off-limits under current rules.
It means that a player could be spared a harsh dismissal if the replay shows the second booking was wrong, or, just as crucially, that it should stand.
Another tweak under discussion is giving VAR the power to review corner kicks that lead directly to goals, but only if there’s a clear and obvious error in awarding the corner.
Wrongly given corners have cost teams dearly at the highest level, but today’s technology can’t step in to fix that.
These ideas are not final yet. IFAB, which is made up of FIFA and the four UK football associations, is expected to discuss the proposals at its annual general meeting later in 2025, with any approved changes written into the Laws of the Game ahead of the expanded 48-team World Cup in 2026.
If given the green light, these tweaks would likely be tested in domestic leagues and FIFA tournaments before the next World Cup kicks off in June 2026 across 16 cities in North America.
This will be the first time the World Cup will be hosted by three countries, and the first with so many teams.
There could be some big law changes ahead of the 2026 World Cup next summer… 👀
Football lawmakers are reportedly considering drastic changes including tweaks to how much VAR can intervene in play. pic.twitter.com/uBljBBE4Tx
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) July 17, 2025
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