Napoli's outspoken president, Aurelio De Laurentiis, has thrown a bold proposal onto the table, arguing that football must evolve or risk losing its future fans. In a candid interview with The Athletic, the man who oversaw Napoli's historic Scudetto win claimed the sport is failing to captivate the younger, digitally-native generation, who are used to the fast pace of video games like FIFA.

His solution? A radical overhaul of the game's fundamental rules. De Laurentiis's headline-grabbing ideas include slashing match lengths dramatically, proposing each half be reduced from 45 to just 25 minutes. He believes the current format is "too long," causing young viewers with shorter attention spans to simply switch off and retreat to their gaming consoles.

But his vision for a faster, more fluid game doesn't stop there. He's also targeting what he sees as time-wasting and gamesmanship. De Laurentiis expressed fierce disdain for players feigning injuries, suggesting immediate expulsion for such "acting." Furthermore, he wants to revolutionize disciplinary measures, proposing to scrap traditional yellow and red cards entirely.

In their place, he envisions a sin-bin system inspired by other sports like basketball and rugby: a five-minute temporary dismissal for a yellow-card offense and a 20-minute removal for a red-card offense. This, he argues, would keep games more competitive by punishing teams without permanently reducing them to ten men, maintaining excitement and flow for viewers.

By looking to American sports for inspiration, De Laurentiis is sparking a crucial conversation about football's modernization. While these ideas may seem extreme to purists, they highlight a growing concern in the industry about engaging the next wave of fans who consume sports entertainment in an entirely new way.