January 31, 2018 Toronto FC II--USL Announces Rule Changes For 2018 (from uslsoccer.com)

  
USL Announces Rule Changes for 2018
By USLSoccer.com Staff, 01/31/18, 7:04PM EST 

Trade of international roster spots, fourth substitutes in extra time new for 2018

TAMPA, Fla. – The United Soccer League (USL), one of the most prominent Division II 
professional leagues in the world, officially announced Wednesday that the 2018 season 
will feature a handful of new rules which were vetted by the various Competition Subcommittees 
and subsequently approved by the full Technical Committee meeting at the annual meetings 
in Orlando earlier this month.

“We are pleased to continue the evolution of the USL’s rules to bring our league in line with 
top domestic and international competition, and offer greater roster flexibility to our clubs,” 
said USL President Jake Edwards. “The changes the league’s rules have undergone over recent 
seasons have occurred thanks to close collaboration with our clubs and will deliver the highest 
level of competition on the pitch for our fans.”

On the field, USL regular-season games will now be considered official only upon reaching 
the 70th minute of the contest, with the rule having previously allowed games to be declared 
official after the completion of the first half. All games in the USL Cup Playoffs will continue 
to be played to conclusion.

Contests in the USL Cup Playoffs will now allow a fourth substitute to be used in extra time. 
The fourth substitution must occur prior to the final whistle in extra time and will not be 
permitted in the break between the end of the contest and a penalty shootout.

Off the field, teams will now be permitted to trade or sell international roster spots within 
the league for the duration of a season. Following the conclusion of the season, all rosters 
will reset to seven international roster spots per team.

The league has also introduced an Injured Reserve position to its rosters, allowing clubs 
to retain a player who has suffered a medically-verified season-ending injury without using 
a roster position. Each club will have one available IR spot for the season.

In gameday rules, teams will now submit a 23-player squad at least 48 hours before kickoff 
of each game, reduced from 27 players a season ago. Additionally, a team’s 18-player gameday 
roster may now contain a maximum of five players signed to USL Academy contracts.

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