The NWSL will “will implement a series of rule changes beginning with this weekend’s Challenge Cup” between NJ/NY Gotham FC and the K.C. Current. Changes include a “new off-field treatment rule and a timed substitution rule.” The league also will “update its game day heat safety policy and expand its fan code of conduct to cover digital and social media spaces.” Under the new off-field treatment rule, players who remain on the ground and require medical personnel to enter the field after play is stopped “will be required to leave the field for a one-minute treatment period.” Players being substituted also will “now have 10 seconds to leave the field.” The NWSL “simplified its heat safety procedures,” with games “paused for 150-180 seconds” when the wet bulb globe temperature falls between 82.3°F and 92.1°F. The league expanded its “‘fan code of conduct’ to formally include digital spaces” (THE ATHLETIC, 6/24).
NWSL to debut new rule changes starting with Challenge Cup
