Kick-ins could replace throw-ins as football lawmakers authorise trial backed by Arsenal legend Arsene Wenger

Kick-ins could replace throw-ins in football after the sport’s lawmakers agreed to authorise trials of the idea, which has support from Arsenal legend and FIFA chief Arsene Wenger.

A number of issues and potential changes to the sport were discussed on Monday as the International Football Association Board (Ifab) held its annual general meeting in Doha.

Among them was the possibility of replacing throw-ins with kick-ins. Throw-ins have been used in football since the 1860s, with the Football Association banning the kick-in option in 1863.

But kick-ins could made a comeback after Ifab confirmed that trials were set to take place and the Dutch second division keen to try it out.

The argument for a kick-in is that, theoretically, they will be completed more quickly than a throw-in and therefore it would speed up the process of returning the ball to the field of play.

There is also a belief that time-wasting will be more difficult with kick-ins allowed, while teams chasing goals will not need to go through the motion of taking a throw-in and waiting for their team-mates to catch up with the play before restarting attacks.

Former Arsenal manager Wenger, now working at FIFA as the head of its global football development, has previously backed kick-ins to reduce time-wasting and have a positive influence on the game.

‘There are two big time-wasters at the moment, that is throw-ins and free-kicks, and a little bit goal-kicks as well because when you play out now in the box,’ he said last year.

‘The target is to make the game more spectacular and quicker, and maybe with throw-ins you could play with your feet, but in a limit of five seconds for example, things like that.

‘But it has to be tested and then has to be accepted by the Ifab.’

FI