The IFAB
Football Rulesfor everyone
Did you know that football, the world’s most popular sport, has one of the sport’s smallest Law books? However, like any rule book, the official ‘Laws of the Game’ are very detailed and use technical and sometimes complex language.
As a result, many people who watch, play, coach, referee or comment on the game have asked The International Football Association Board to provide a simplified version of the Laws. And The IFAB listened. They decided to create ‘Football Rules’ for a shorter and clear overview for everyone involved in the beautiful game.
platform
web 
app
contribution
development, maintenance
Problem
making the officialrules more accessible
One of football’s fundamental attractions is its simplicity. The Laws of the Game are intended mostly for referees, other professionals and organisations, so The IFAB wanted to make the game easier to understand for a wider audience; especially young people, players, coaches, spectators, media, potential or newly qualified referees, and adults who referee occasionally.
Meeting the distinct expectations of these groups, the Football Rules differ from the Laws of the Game in both language and structure. Amending the Rules is easier as it doesn’t require the same decision-making process and formal procedure as the Laws.
The IFAB needed to clearly distinguish the Laws and the Rules, and introduce new digital tools to distribute Football Rules globally while ensuring a similar look and feel regardless of the platform and device used to explore them.
Website
the essence offootball in one place
While the main website of the football lawmaker (theifab.com) includes exhaustive information about The IFAB, the Laws of the Game, ongoing trials and related documents, the new website (footballrules.com) is entirely focused on the simplified football rules. All of which can be easily found in the menu and sorted by categories or in alphabetical order, as requested by many football followers.
In addition to the very clear structure of the content, the website provides a user-friendly experience thanks to intuitive navigation, a search mechanism and helpful illustrations. Each article links to the corresponding sections in the Laws for those who want more information or the official wording.
Mobile App
simple solution forsports governance
The Football Rules by The IFAB are also available in a mobile application for Android and iOS devices, powered by our ready-made solution called ROSA (Rules of Sports App). This white label app was designed to help various sports organisations manage, update and distribute their regulations. To cater for The IFAB’s needs, the app was fast and easily adapted to reflect the Football Rules content, and its unique branding by modifying the homescreen design, structure, colours and graphic layout.
In terms of functionalities, the Football Rules app powered by ROSA offers much more than the web platform. Users can test their knowledge about Football Rules in a separate Q&A section which allows them to browse and filter almost 200 examples. They can also use the advanced search to quickly find information on specific topics across the entire content. Last but not least, the app lets them personalise their experience by adding their own notes and bookmarking favourite articles.
As we are constantly developing the Rules of Sports App, many exciting features are yet to come!
Outcome
Football Rules closerto sports enthusiasts
Whereas the Laws of the Game and theifab.com website remain the official guide for football professionals, footballrules.com and Football Rules by The IFAB app aim to be the go-to-place for all football followers whenever they need explanation of any aspect of the game. Currently, both the website and the app are available in English, but the football lawmaker is planning to translate them into further languages.
Enhancing understanding of the Rules will make football even more appealing worldwide and raise The IFAB’s profile within the football community.