Will the throw-in, part of soccer for ages, soon disappear from the game? FIFA will apparently soon test the idea of the kick-in instead of the throw-in in practice. The FIFA president is reluctant, but a prominent advocate has statistics on his side.

The throw-in as we know it today has existed in soccer since 1882, but this monument to the rules of the world’s most popular game is apparently facing adversity, at any rate its abolition is soon to be officially tested at least: The International Football Association Board (IFAB) is actually toying with this unusual idea. At the annual general meeting of the body responsible for changes in soccer, it gave the green light for a pilot project. This is reported by “Sky Sport.” The test balloon is the second Dutch league. The idea there is to test whether one-kicks make the game more attractive. The idea behind it: The game should be accelerated as soon as the ball is out of bounds.

Other measures are planned, such as testing a “fairer calculation of playing time,” according to an IFAB statement. A stopwatch could be used to stop time when the ball is not in play, it said. English data shows that net playing time in the 2021/22 Premier League – Season averaged just 55 minutes and three seconds.

“Other testing attempts such as explaining certain refereeing decisions during a match, possibly calculating playing time more fairly, and kick-ins were discussed. It was made clear at the annual general meeting that these and all other tests require approval and will be monitored by the IFAB as well as FIFA,” an IFAB statement said.

“Currently there are two major time-wasters”.

At least as far as the kick-in is concerned, there are already prominent advocates. One of them is Arsene Wenger, FIFA’s head of global soccer development. The former Arsenal coach had already come out in favor of a field trial a year ago. “Currently there are two big time wasters: throw-ins and free kicks. The goal is to make the game more spectacular and faster,” the Frenchman said. “Maybe kick-ins with a time limit of five seconds, for example, could contribute to that.”

Commenting on his idea of a new throw-in rule, Wenger told L’Équipe: “With five minutes to go, a throw-in should be an advantage for you, but in these situations you have ten field players in the game, while you only have nine.” Statistics showed, Wenger said, that “in eight out of 10 of these throw-in situations, you lose the ball.”

English soccer legend Gary Lineker, now a TV pundit, is skeptical of Wenger’s idea: “I’m not sure it’s a good idea. It will slow down the game as every throw-in in the opponent’s half becomes a free kick,” the former international tweeted. “If you want to change something, you should allow players to take quick free kicks, even for themselves. Punish those who foul, not those who are fouled. That would also speed up the game.”

Commenting cautiously on the upcoming field trials, FIFA President Gianni Infantino said, “We are a bit skeptical about some of the measures, but the IFAB is open to any proposals that are made. If there are proposals that help the game, we can’t know that until we look at them, so we will look at those proposals as well.”