Canadian clubs and officials get ready for FIFA offside experiment

WINNIPEG, Manitoba, April 3 : Players and match officials in Canada's national soccer league are rewiring their brains and bodies as a critical test of provisional FIFA offside rules takes place on Saturday.

The provisional rule, known as an "alternative offside law" by world football authorities, will be tested in the Canadian Premier League's season opener on Saturday in Hamilton, Ontario between hosts Forge FC and reigning champions Atletico Ottawa. 

"Just having that idea that most of those times you're not going to be offside now, I think it just adds a bit more confidence in players making the runs, whether it's wingers, strikers or attacking midfielders," Forge FC forward Tristan Borges told reporters on Friday.

"Defenders are going to be a little bit more wary of it and watching it a little bit more, which ultimately will add more excitement to the game."

FIFA says the rule has evolved from ideas designed "to enhance match tempo and reduce time-wasting," as well as to promote a more attacking style of play. 

Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, FIFA's chief of global football development, called the Canadian test "an important pilot". 

"By testing this new interpretation in a professional competition, we can better understand its impact," he added.

Few developments in world soccer have provoked more controversy in recent years than protracted video‑assisted offside decisions that disallow goals and interrupt play over marginal infringements.

Matches were often halted for several minutes as VAR reviewed offside decisions, dulling goal celebrations for players and fans and disrupting the game’s flow.

The proposed FIFA rule is designed to make calls clearer and faster, reducing controversy and delays. Critics in Europe have