Bundesliga teams agree to keep five substitutions rule in place for next season

Teams in the Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga will be allowed to make five substitutions per game in the 2021/22 season, the DFL has confirmed. 

A meeting of the 36 member clubs of the DFL took place on Wednesday, and it was decided that the five substitutions rule will remain in place in the Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga for the upcoming season as well.

The five substitutions rule was first introduced in May 2020 when football made its return following the COVID-19 enforced break. The International Football Association Board (IFAB) made the decision to allow teams to be able to make five substitutions, instead of three, in every game. This was done to help manage the workload of the players amid a congested fixture list.

The five substitutions rule was used in the Bundesliga last season as well. IFAB announced in May that the rule will be extended until December 2022, giving respective leagues the option to decide on whether they want to use the rule. And the DFL has now decided that to adopt this rule for the 2021/22 season as well.

Teams will have a total of three opportunities to make substitutions during the 90 minutes. In addition, substitutions can also be made at half-time.

It was also decided during the meeting of the DFL’s member clubs that away fans will be able to return to stadiums from the third matchday of the upcoming season. Five percent of the tickets will be made available for fans of away teams. After the COVID-19 restrictions are removed, the figure will revert back to 10%.

The 2021/22 Bundesliga season gets underway on August 13. Borussia Dortmund will face Eintracht Frankfurt at home in their season opener on August 14.