ZURICH: FIFA will use the Olympic football tournament in Rio de Janeiro in August as the first test event for an experiment to permit the use of a fourth substitute in extra time in knockout phase games writes KEIR RADNEDGE.

The men’s Olympic football tournament is already a compromised event since the men’s tournament restricts teams to the use players up to the age 23 with the exception of three over-age players.

While football is usually a sideline event at the Games it will take centre stage in Rio because of Brazil’s passion for football and because the one prize the host nation have won is Olympic gold,

Hence Brazil may prefer to use Barcelona’s busy superstar Neymar for the Olympic Games and not for the South American centenary tournament in the United States in June so as not to upset his club.

The executive committee of world football federation decided today in Zurich, at its first meeting under new president Gianni Infantino, that it would take immediate advantage of the fourth-substitute ruling by the lawmaking International Football Association Board.

Hence managers can experiment with the option at the Olympic football tournaments, the Under-20 Women’s World Cup in Papua New Guinea in November and the Club World Cup in Japan in December.

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