North American Top Division Adds Wenger’s ‘Daylight Offside’ Among 2026 Rule Changes

The Canadian Premier League is introducing several changes for the 2026 season, highlighted by the new “daylight offside rule,” as advocated by legendary manager Arsène Wenger.

Wenger, now FIFA Chief of Global Football Development, has proposed a new ruling on the placement of defenders and attackers for offside, and the CPL—Canada’s FIFA-sanctioned top division—will become the first league in the world to embrace it on a trial basis.

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Under the revised approach, an attacking player will be considered onside if at least one part of their body that can be used to score is in line with or behind the second-to-last defender. The play will only be called offside if there is a gap, or under the terms “daylight” between themselves and the last defender.

The league will work in close collaboration with FIFA and ensure that its officials, managed through Canada Soccer, are prepared for the new systems.

“This is an important pilot,” Wenger said in a press release. “By testing this new interpretation in a professional competition, we can better understand its impact, including in terms of improving clarity and the flow of the game and promoting attacking play. We look forward to analyzing the results of the trial phase.”

The eight-team circuit, which features new Montréal-based club, FC Supra, kicks off on Saturday, looking to cash in on the momentum of the 2026 World Cup, a viral snow-covered 2025 championship game and now a new offside rule.

How Is Daylight Offside Different?

The CPL is leading the line on innovation ⚽️🇨🇦

This season, we’re trialing the “daylight offside” rule, approved by IFAB and in cooperation with FIFA, to enhance attacking play and match flow.

Starts Saturday.#CPLSoccer pic.twitter.com/q3dxPUJsFA
— Canadian Premier League (@CPLsoccer) March 31, 2026

The daylight rule is not dissimilar to the current system used around the world.

The positioning of attackers and defenders remains determined by where players are when the ball leaves a passer’s foot, consistent with the rule seen across the world’s top competitions. In the previous rulebook, an attacker’s body had to be entirely before the last defender when the ball was kicked.

The CPL says that the new rule is “aimed at restoring a greater attacking advantage and boosting the flow of matches.”

Challenge-Based Video Review Enters the CPL

Alongside daylight offside, the CPL will also introduce Football Video Support, marking the first time the eight-year-old circuit has used any type of video-assisted refereeing.

The system will provide officials with a review mechanism in key situations, but is ruled solely by the match official, rather than a separate dedicated referee, as seen in common Video Assisted Refereeing. The reviews will also be limited to cameras filming the game for broadcast.

Seen at youth World Cups, FVS will be used when teams challenge a review with one of two requests per game in instances of goals, penalty decisions, direct red cards and cases of mistaken identity. Every goal will also be checked for clear and obvious offenses—a factor that could influence the natural flow of the game.

Time Wasting Rules Added

Noah Abatneh and Atlético Ottawa won the 2025 Canadian Premier League in a snowstorm. | Canadian Premier League

The CPL has followed other leagues and elements of the upcoming World Cup, implementing rules to limit time wasting.

Players must now leave the field within 10 seconds of a substitution being displayed. If they do not, the new player will not be allowed to enter for at least one minute. Additionally, on-field injury treatments will require the player to leave the field and remain off for one minute.

Canadian Premier League Ready for Eighth Season

GOAL 🦖

DAVID RODRIGUEZ ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!!!!

BICYCLE KICK GOAL IN THE 2025 CANADIAN PREMIER LEAGUE FINAL TO LEVEL THINGS UP FOR @atletiOttawa 🤯🤯🤯

🔴 Watch the #CanPL final LIVE on OneSoccer, TSN & FuboTV pic.twitter.com/4RhNsBI4zH
— Canadian Premier League (@CPLsoccer) November 9, 2025

Even with just eight teams, the CPL offers some of the most travel in world soccer, with the distance between Victoria’s Pacific FC and the Halifax Wanderers at 2,789 miles—an over six-hour connecting flight taken twice a year by each side.

Atlético Ottawa, a subsidiary of La Liga titans Atlético Madrid, captured the 2025 title in a final match covered in feet of snow, beating Calgary’s Cavalry FC with a bicycle kick—now known as “The Icycle Kick” —and a stoppage time winner from David Rodríguez, a Mexican player who had never seen snow before the final.

The 2026 season will see Ottawa look to defend their title and Cavalry chase their second North Star Cup, after losing three of four finals in their history. Hamilton’s Forge FC seek a return to the league pinnacle, after their run of four titles in the league’s first five years came to an end in 2023, despite a standout regular season in 2025.

Other teams include recently rebranded Inter Toronto FC, with strong ties to Liga MX, as well as Vancouver FC, Halifax Wanderers, Pacific FC and FC Supra, which has committed to an Athletic Club-style roster build, signing only players from Québec, Canada’s only French province.

The season kicks off on April 4.

How Is Daylight Offside Different?

Challenge-Based Video Review Enters the CPL

Time Wasting Rules Added

Canadian Premier League Ready for Eighth Season

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