Last updated: August 2026
Key Takeaways
- Offside was in the Football Association’s first laws in 1863, and it was far stricter than today’s: any player in front of the ball was out of play.
- February 1866 brought the three-player rule — you were onside if three opponents were between you and their goal.
- 1925 cut that from three opponents to two, the single most consequential change in the law’s history. Goals in the Football League jumped from 4,700 to 6,373 in one season.
- Since then: 1907 made it impossible to be offside in your own half, 1990 made level with the second-last defender onside, and 2005 defined which body parts count.
Offside is older than the Football Association. Versions of it were being argued about in English schools decades before anybody wrote down the laws of association football, and the law that exists today is the result of sixty years of clubs trying to make attacking easier without turning the game into a goal-hanging contest.
Here are the dates, and what each change actually did.
«Every argument about offside since 1863 has been the same argument: how much do you protect the defence, and how much do you reward the forward. The rule just moves along that line.» — Anthony Molina, FOOTBOLNO.COM
The Short Answer
The offside law entered the codified game in 1863, in the Football Association’s original laws. It has been changed substantially five times since.
| Year | Change |
|---|---|
| 1863 | Offside appears in the FA’s first laws. Strict: any player in front of the ball is out of play |
| February 1866 | Three-player rule — onside if at least three opponents are between you and their goal |
| 1907 | A player cannot be offside in their own half |
| 1925 | Three opponents reduced to two |
| 1990 | An attacker level with the second-last defender is onside |
| 2005 | «Nearer to the goal line» defined as any part of the head, body or feet; arms excluded |
Before 1863: Everyone Had a Version
Offside laws existed in the informal school football of the early 1800s, and most of them were stricter than anything used today.
Rugby School, 1845 — the first published laws of any football code — stated that a player was «off his side» if the ball had touched one of his own side behind him, until the other side touched it. Such a player could not kick the ball, touch it down or interfere with an opponent.
Most school and university codes worked the same way: any player ahead of the ball was offside, which is close to modern rugby union. Shrewsbury (1855), Uppingham (1857), Winchester (1863) and the Cambridge Rules of 1863 all took that approach.
A few allowed more. The 1847 laws of the Eton Field Game said a player could not be «sneaking» if there were four or more opponents between him and the goal line — a «rule of four» that also appears in the 1856 Cambridge Rules and the rules of Charterhouse in 1863.
And some clubs had no offside law at all. The first laws of Sheffield FC in 1858 contain none, and the Sheffield game had players known as «kick-throughs» stationed permanently by the opposition goal.
1863: The FA Writes It Down
The Football Association’s first laws in 1863 adopted the strict version: any player in front of the ball was penalised. There was one exception, for the kick from behind the goal line — the 1863 equivalent of a goal kick — because otherwise every attacker would have been out of play at every one.
The practical effect was that forward passing was essentially impossible. The game that produced was a dribbling game, with team-mates backing up the man on the ball rather than running beyond him.
1866: The Three-Player Rule
At the FA’s first revision of the laws, in February 1866, the law was softened. A player ahead of the ball was out of play unless there were at least three opponents between him and their goal.
The FA’s own meeting record shows how contested this was: the change «gave rise to a lengthy discussion, many thinking with Mr Morley that it would be better to do away with the off side [law] altogether, especially as the Sheffield clubs had none».
Contemporary reports do not say why it passed. Charles Alcock, writing in 1890, suggested it was done to persuade Westminster and Charterhouse to join the association — and both did become members after the next annual meeting in February 1867.
The three-player rule then survived every attempt to change it for nearly sixty years. Sheffield finally accepted it in 1877, when the FA compromised by allowing the throw-in to be taken in any direction.
1907: Not in Your Own Half
The Scottish FA pushed a change through the International Football Association Board making it impossible to be offside in your own half.
The Scottish FA announced at IFAB’s 1906 meeting that it would bring the proposal forward. The English FA council approved it in March 1907, and IFAB passed it in June 1907.
1925: Three Becomes Two
This is the one that changed football.
The Scottish FA had been pushing to reduce the requirement from three opponents to two since 1893. It was rejected by IFAB in 1894, again in 1902, and again in 1913 after the English FA objected.
In 1925 the two-player proposal reached the FA’s annual meeting on 8 June. Supporters argued it would reduce stoppages, cut refereeing errors and improve the spectacle. Opponents said it gave «undue advantage to attackers», and referees were overwhelmingly against. It passed by a large majority anyway, and IFAB adopted it later that month.
The effect was immediate and enormous:
- Play stretched, and «short passing gave way to longer balls»
- Il W-M formation was developed in response, adding a third defender
- Goalscoring jumped. In 1924–25, 4,700 goals were scored in 1,848 Football League games. In 1925–26, the same number of games produced 6,373 goals
That is a 36 per cent increase in goals from a one-word change, and it remains the clearest demonstration in football history of how much the offside line shapes the sport.
1990: Level Is Onside
IFAB declared in 1990 that an attacker level with the second-last defender is onside. Before that, level had been offside.
The change was proposed by the Scottish FA and made, in IFAB’s own framing, to «encourage the attacking team» by «giving the attacking player an advantage over the defender». Every marginal decision since — and every VAR line drawn on a television screen — sits on that 1990 wording.
2005: Which Parts of You Count
The 2005 edition of the Laws added a decision defining what «nearer to his opponents’ goal line» actually means: any part of the head, body or feet being nearer than both the ball and the second-last opponent. The arms are not included.
By 2017 the wording had been refined again to specify how the hands and arms of all players are treated. It is the least glamorous change on this list and the one that decides the most goals, because in a world of frame-by-frame review, «which part of the body» is the whole question.
Where the Law Is Now
The modern law is the accumulation of all of the above: you are in an offside position if you are in the opponents’ half and nearer to their goal line than both the ball and the second-last opponent, judged on head, body and feet. Being in that position is not an offence in itself — it only matters if you become involved in play.
Competitions may now also use technology to help, and IFAB’s own laws explicitly allow it for offside, including semi-automated offside technology. What that technology measures is still the 1925 line, refined in 1990 and defined in 2005.
For the rule as it actually applies in a match rather than its history, our guide to offside in soccer covers the current law, and the assistant referee’s flag positions explain how the decision is signalled.
Common Questions
When was the offside rule introduced? In 1863, in the Football Association’s first laws. It was much stricter then: any player in front of the ball was out of play.
When did offside become the three-player rule? February 1866, at the first revision of the FA’s laws.
When did offside change from three players to two? In 1925. The FA approved it on 8 June 1925 and IFAB adopted it later that month.
What effect did the 1925 change have? Goals in the Football League rose from 4,700 in 1924–25 to 6,373 in 1925–26 from the same number of games, and the W-M formation was developed in response.
When did level with the last defender become onside? In 1990, following a Scottish FA proposal, to give the attacking player an advantage over the defender.
Which body parts count for offside? Head, body and feet — defined in the 2005 edition of the Laws. Arms are excluded.
Can you be offside in your own half? No, and you have not been able to since 1907.
Did offside exist before the Football Association? Yes. School codes had offside laws decades earlier, most of them stricter than the FA’s, and Rugby School published one in 1845. Some clubs, including Sheffield FC in 1858, had none at all.
Anthony Molina writes about soccer technique, gear and coaching at FOOTBOLNO.
