North American League Prepares to Shake Up Soccer with Game-Changing Rule Revolution
A major North American soccer league is preparing to test the innovative "daylight" offside regulation, as proposed by former Arsenal coach Arsène Wenger.
Wenger, currently serving as FIFA's chief of worldwide football development, has proposed that a clear space must exist between the attacking player and the offside defender, the penultimate defending opposition player, to promote more offensive play and reduce marginal offside violations.
This regulation would eliminate tight VAR decisions, where a player's foot might be beyond the line, while potentially creating other challenges, such as excessive scoring or dramatically altered tactical approaches.
The Canadian Premier League, Canada's premier men's professional soccer division, is poised to become the inaugural league to test this regulation, which has previously only been limitedly examined in youth football.
The documentation and the CPL's submission were presented at the International Football Association Board conference last week. It will now advance to the annual general assembly in Cardiff on Feb. 28, where, if endorsed, it would permit the eight-club CPL to implement the regulation when its season commences in April.
If the Canadian experiment proves successful, there is possibility for worldwide adoption for the 2027–28 campaigns, which will also mark the debut for the American-based MLS in its new European-synchronized scheduling structure.
Additional Leagues Required for Complete Testing
Additional Leagues Required for Complete Testing
Additional leagues are also anticipated to be invited to the testing as the modifications and analysis will need to be conducted globally, especially with competitions that utilize VAR, which the CPL is not prepared to deploy.
"As part of our continuous collaboration with FIFA, we are examining the potential of testing a revised offside interpretation during the 2026 CPL season," the Canadian Premier League stated in a release, before adding that nothing has been finalized and that conversations are continuing. "Innovation represents a fundamental principle of the league and these discussions demonstrate a mutual commitment to the ongoing development of the sport."
The CPL has recently gained unprecedented public attention, following Atlético Ottawa's David Rodriguez's spectacular overhead kick in snowy conditions that helped secure his team's 2025 league title, called the North Star Cup.
Should the CPL become the inaugural league to implement the new offside modification, it would attract global attention as well, serving as a window into what the sport's future might entail.