North American League Set to Trial Dramatic Soccer Rule Change

Arsène Wenger has suggested a shift in how the offside rule is applied.

The Canadian Premier League is poised to introduce Arsène Wenger's (right) offside ideas. | Canadian Premier League, Buda Mendes/FIFA/Getty Images

A North American top division is set to trial the new “daylight” offside rule, as suggested by former Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger.

Wenger, who is now FIFA’s head of global football development, has suggested that there should be a complete gap between the attacking player and the offside defender, the second-to-last defending opposition player, in order to encourage more attacking play and fewer close-call offside infractions. 

The rule would eliminate close VAR reviews, where a player's toe may be across the line, while potentially introducing other issues, including too many goals or drastically changing tactics. 

The Canadian Premier League, the first division of men’s professional soccer in Canada, is set to become the first league to trial the rule, which has previously only been sparingly tested in youth soccer.

The report and the CPL’s proposal were presented at the International Football Association Board meeting last week. It will now go forward to the annual general meeting in Cardiff on Feb. 28, where, if approved, it would allow the eight-team CPL to begin using the rule when its league schedule begins in April. 

Should the trial in Canada impress, there is potential for global introduction for the 2027–28 seasons, which will also be the first for the American-based MLS in its new European-aligned scheduling format. 

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Other Leagues Needed for Full Trial

The Canadian Premier League does not have VAR, which hampers its ability as a testing ground for new rules. | Canadian Premier League/Sheldon Mack

Other leagues are also expected to be invited to the trial as the adjustments and research will need to be done worldwide, particularly with leagues that use VAR, which the CPL is not equipped to implement. 

“As part of our ongoing engagement with FIFA, we are exploring the possibility of trialing a modified offside interpretation during the 2026 CPL season,” the Canadian Premier League said in a statement, before going on to say that nothing has been confirmed and that discussions are ongoing. “Innovation is a core value of the league and these discussions reflect a shared interest in the continued evolution of the game.”

The CPL has recently been pushed into the public eye more than ever, after Atlético Ottawa’s David Rodriguez scored a bicycle kick in a snowstorm to help lead his team to the 2025 league championship, known as the North Star Cup. 

Should the CPL become the first league to feature the new offside adjustment, it would bring the world’s eyes as well, as a looking glass to what the future of the game may hold. 

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