Question Number: 31122

High School 12/20/2016

RE: NFHS, NCAA High School

Derek of Cary, IL USA asks...

With the change in offside law by IFAB, have NFHS and NCAA changed their codes yet? If not is there any chance they might?

I am asking about where the IFK is taken if offside is the call.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

HI Derek,
I think it likely they WILL adopt the location simply because they have tried to keep things relatively the same . It is just they need to meet and the IFAB has been tinkering and interjecting a lot of tweaks on offside almost every year. They are likely thinking seriously guys are we finished now? Our panel member Joe Manjone who is connected with the NFHS executive will no doubt have input into this matter.
from our pitch to your pitch in the spirit of fair play Merry Christmas

Answer provided by Referee Ben Mueller

The NFHS usually does not change their book until the end of the spring season. The NFHS referees typically take their test in the summer. I do agree with Richard that they will change adopt these changes, but simply have not yet. What typically happens is that NFHS analyzes the FIFA Law changes and picks and chooses which parts of them they will follow, which ones they will add their own 2 cents in, and which ones will not be used.

Answer provided by Referee Peter Grove

Hi Derek,
As the other responses state, the NFHS and NCAA have in the past tended to adopt changes made by the IFAB within a year or two. However there are some areas where the NFHS rules in particular (the NCAA less so) differ from the IFAB's Laws of the Game and so it is not guaranteed that they will always adopt all the changes.

When it comes to offside, it is perhaps worth noting that many of the changes made by the IFAB to the definitions within the offside law of what constitutes interfering with play, interfering with an opponent and gaining an advantage were adopted almost verbatim by the NFHS and NCAA just this year, with the justification for the changes (at least in the case of the NFHS) being that this ''aligns NFHS rules with other rules codes.''

Given that example, it seems there is definitely a chance that they will adopt the latest changes as well - but we won't know for sure until or unless it actually happens.