Conmebolcontinues looking for ways to improve its highly praised, popularcompetitions by taking into account what’s best for teams, players, and fans. And it’s no secret that the South American soccer community is extremely engaged with the region’s toptournaments.
This time, the confederation’s chairman Alejandro Dominguez wrote a letter to FIFA president Gianni Infantino proposinga change of rules that would see an extendedhalftime of both the CopaLibertadores and Copa Sudamericana finals.
The idea was submitted earlier this year, on March 4, to the International Football Association Board (IFAB). IfFIFA accepts the request, we could see a Super Bowl-style halftime show in the two Conmebol club tournaments’finals.
Conmebol proposesrule change to FIFA toextend thehalftime in the finals
The South American soccer confederation proposes to lengthen the interval of the Libertadores and Sudamericana finals to 25 minutes, ten more than the current and traditional 15-minute break.
That way, the letter read, a longer halftime would make it possibleto offera more entertaining showfor fans who are in the stadium and also to those arewatching on TV, just like it happens in the NFL and other major sports.
Besides, Conmebol also claims this would be beneficial for teams as their players would have more time to rest and recover for the second half while coaches would have more minutes to give instructions and make any adjustments. Everyone would be more prepared for the remainder of the game, producing a more attractive final.
Considering that these finals could go to extra time and penalties, Dominguez added that alonger interval would also help players to deal withthe stress and tension these kinds of games always produce.
Should FIFA accepts Conmebol’s petition, the extended halftime would be put into effect for this year’sCopa Sudamericana and Copa Libertadores finals scheduled for November 20 and November 27, respectively.