Premier League clubs voted in favour of reintroducing the use of five substitutes per game from the start of the 2022-23 season at a shareholder meeting, the organisation said on Thursday.

The substitutions can be made on three occasions during a game, not including halftime, and clubs can name nine substitutes in total on their team sheet, the league said in a statement.

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Top-flight clubs were allowed to increase the number of substitutes from three to five per match in the 2019-20 campaign when the league restarted in June after a three-month hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Soccer's law-making body, IFAB, had recommended making the rule permanent, but the Premier League was the only top league in Europe to decide against continuing five substitutes from 2020-21 even as a number of managers voiced concerns about player fatigue.

The Professional Footballers' Association backed the league's latest decision, with chief executive Maheta Molango saying the increasing workload on players is damaging their health and wellbeing.

"The adoption of this rule is a welcome step forward in what needs to be an ongoing effort to address issues with player fatigue, making sure they have the opportunity to perform at their best," Molango said in a statement.

The Premier League added that it would stop twice-weekly COVID-19 testing of players and staff from Monday, with only symptomatic individuals to be tested.

"The wellbeing of players and staff remains a priority and the Premier League will continue to monitor the national COVID-19 situation and adapt League-wide protocols as required, in line with the latest guidance from public health authorities and medical experts," the statement said.

The Premier League also said the summer transfer window will open on June 10 and close on Sept. 1.

Ahead of their teams' Premier League matchup on Saturday, the managers of Leeds United and Southampton spoke out in favor of reintroducing the rule.

"It helps the game. Makes games faster and more intensive," Leeds boss Jesse Marsch told reporters. "More playing time for the players. I came from a situation where two years I was working with five subs. Back to three makes me feel handcuffed. Hard to be as aggressive before. Better teams have better rosters, but they also have a better XI. I like, with the way we play, more fresh players on the pitch than fewer."

Added Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl: "There's no surprise, we've spoken a lot of times about it. For us, I think [five substitutes] will be a game-changer, it's very intense the way we play.

"It helps, definitely. There are some arguments from the small clubs [saying] not to do it because of the sporting difference we have with the biggest clubs, but I always see it as an advantage for us."

United States men's national team manager Gregg Berhalter is shifting his focus to the team's preparation for the World Cup after securing qualification, adding that his initial goal is to get out of the team's group, regardless of how Friday's draw plays out.

"The starting point is getting out of the group and once you do that, it's tournament time, you know, it's knockout, single elimination so anything can happen," Berhalter said.

The U.S. lost 2-0 to Costa Rica in its final qualifier, but knew going in that all it had to do was avoid losing by six goals to the Ticos in order to clinch qualification. The U.S. finished third in CONCACAF qualifying, level on points with the Ticos, but took the final automatic qualification spot due to its superior goal difference.

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The qualification effort was full of ups and downs, and the team had to contend with the specter of the failed qualification effort over four years ago. Berhalter credited the players and staff for successfully navigating their way through the 14-game campaign.

"Going through it, the expectation is that we win every game, and so there's a disconnect, I think, between expectations and reality," Berhalter said on a Zoom call with reporters, prior to flying to Qatar for Friday's draw. "And I think that that builds pressure on the team a little bit. But then the second thing is we really felt the public was behind us in this, and it was a great feeling. So particularly the home games when the stadiums were electric and creating an amazing atmosphere.

"But in the same sense, there was also this feeling that the public was on edge and they desperately wanted us to make it. We desperately wanted to make the World Cup, and I think overall it's just a great lesson for everyone that you can't take qualifying for granted. It's about what you do on that day, and it's about staying one game at a time."

Berhalter, who as a player was part of the U.S. teams that went to the 2002 and 2006 World Cups, added that the conditions and atmosphere at the World Cup could suit his players better than the wide range of environments the team faces in CONCACAF.

"The games are a lot more controlled. I think that the atmospheres are a lot more controlled. The field conditions are standardized," he said about World Cup matches. "So it's a lot more predictable, in a sense, but the level is better. I think our guys can adapt to that easier. I think that will be something where our guys are used to playing with top players in the world, and this will be another opportunity for them to do so."

Once Friday's draw is completed, Berhalter will be aiming to maximize his time with the team. The U.S. will have four matches in the CONCACAF Nations League in June, with another two matches in the September window. Berhalter said he hopes the latter two matches will be against teams in confederations that the U.S. hasn't played much recently, such as Africa and Asia. The USSF is looking at games against South American and European opponents as well, though there is room for only two matches.

For Berhalter, it's still not enough time, given the awkward timing of the tournament starting in November.

"It's less than ideal preparation, in terms of the time we're going to have. But every team is going to be doing the same thing, so we'll be able to deal with it, just like everybody else," he said.

Berhalter added there are still some parts of the field, such as left-back, where he would like to increase the team's depth. There is also the ongoing competition to see who will take hold of the No. 9 role.

"[I'm] hoping that the No. 9 gets in good form and continues to push whether that's Ricardo [Pepi] or Daryl [Dike] or Gyasi [Zardes], or Jordan [Morris]or Jesus [Ferreira], wherever that may be, or Josh Sergeant even. We're hoping that one of our nines gets into good form by the time the World Cup comes around."

Berhalter also made it clear that his goals go beyond getting out of the group.

"I didn't want to paint it as we have low expectations because. That's not the case at all," he said. "But you see the time and time again, top teams not getting out of their group. So it has to be a priority for any team to get out of your group and go from there, see where you play next, prepare to beat that team. And that's where it becomes fun."

DOHA, Qatar -- For Qatar, the World Cup draw Friday is the bell signaling the last lap of a race that began more than two decades ago. That's when the Gulf state -- poor in square miles, population and (back then) name recognition, but rich in per capita GDP and ambition -- decided to make sports one of the central planks of its development.

Sports would raise the country's profile, drive business opportunity, provide some sort of legacy for the day when, inevitably, the oil and natural gas run out. It was just one prong of the strategy -- security (the U.S. military's Gulf Central Command is in Doha), media (Al Jazeera) and education were also priorities -- but in some ways, it was the most significant.

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The most significant step in the journey was back on Dec. 2, 2010, when a vote by FIFA's Executive Committee awarded them the 2022 World Cup. It would turn out to be a day of controversy -- three of the 25 ExCo members were suspended for corruption before the vote even took place, another 11 who voted that day were subsequently banned, prosecuted or suspended, and longtime FIFA president Sepp Blatter was ousted a few years later -- but it meant Qatar was on its way and there was no turning back.

And now, stuff gets real.

The draw Friday will determine how the 32 participating nations will line up in groups of four. Well, almost -- real life, of course, has gotten in the way in the form of a pandemic and a war, which means three spots are still to be determined. Barring any further twists, one will be contested by Ukraine, Scotland and Wales, another by Australia, United Arab Emirates and Peru and the final one by Costa Rica vs. New Zealand. While most of FIFA's 211 member nations had their World Cup dreams crushed a long time ago -- and a few just in the past 10 days -- fans in 37 countries can continue to hope, at least until June, when the final qualifiers are played.

What will they find when November rolls around and the so-called Biggest Show in Sports kicks off? A World Cup like no other.

For a start, we're used to countries hosting World Cups, but this is essentially a tournament held in a single city, Doha. Qatar has a population of nearly 2.5 million, and nearly 90% of them live in the Doha metropolitan area. Seven of the eight venues are either in central Doha, or within a couple of miles of the city limits. The one that's not (Al Khor) is a mere 30 miles away. Never before in the history of the game has so much "stuff" -- players, fans, sponsors, executives, hangers-on -- been concentrated in so little space.

Also, never before has a World Cup been contested in a place that feels so new, so unmoored from the constraints of history and, specifically, from football culture.

Qatari culture is rich and ancient: People have been living here since the Stone Age, but the nation itself only achieved independence in 1971 and, for much of its history, it was ruled by others, whether British, Saudi or Ottoman. That independence, broadly coinciding with the discovery of vast oil and natural gas reserves, was a blessing. Its riches were -- relatively speaking -- spared from being extracted by foreigners, and it suddenly found itself with a blank slate in terms of development and the cash to make (almost) anything happen.

Doha felt like a vast construction site when I first visited nearly 20 years ago and while it's bigger and bolder today, it still feels like a work in progress. Very little that is tangible is older than the turn of the millennium: not the luxury tower blocks, not the mega-malls filled with familiar brands, not the stadiums themselves. Most of them look like what you would expect them to look like: striking architectural follies that look especially impressive from afar, though one (Stadium 974) deserves credit for creativity, as it was built entirely from shipping containers and will be disassembled after the tournament.

They too contribute to the air of impermanence and rootlessness: You're in Qatar, but you could be anywhere -- anywhere that sports and entertainment, sponsors and politics meet.

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In some ways, that's an unfair criticism. The past few World Cup hosts (Russia, Brazil, South Africa, Germany) didn't just have strong and distinct footballing cultures; they were powerful global country brands too. There was an identity there that folks were familiar with and which the tournament built on. Qatar doesn't have that luxury. To many, they are what the world chooses to project on them: a cookie-cutter, uber-wealthy Gulf petro-state with an absolute ruler, garish luxury constructions and designer stores, a nation that mistreats migrant workers and likes to accumulate shiny assets, like the 2022 World Cup, in fact. Fair? Probably not.

Qatar would point to the strides they've made -- especially relative to their neighbors -- in terms of women's rights, democratic process, education and, thanks in part to the spotlight the World Cup has brought, migrant worker rights and working conditions, too. But clearly there's still more work to do. And if the 2022 World Cup is to have any purpose for the country, beyond providing global sports entertainment and bragging rights, they will need to get better at telling their story to the rest of the globe.

The bell has been rung, this is the last lap. Now is when you have to make it count.

Jerry Jones has paid nearly $3 million to the woman who says she is his biological daughter, including her full tuition at SMU and a $70,000 Range Rover on her 16th birthday, and to her mother, according to the Little Rock, Arkansas, lawyer who delivered the payments on behalf of the Dallas Cowboys owner.

Lawyer Don Jack told ESPN on Thursday that he made regular payments on Jones' behalf to Alexandra Davis, the 25-year-old congressional aide who filed a paternity lawsuit against Jones on March 3, and her mother, Cynthia Spencer Davis, whom Jones met in 1995 when she was a ticket-counter agent for American Airlines in Arkansas.

"On numerous occasions I have made payments on behalf of Mr. Jones to Cindy and Alex Davis," Jack said in a statement. A longtime friend of Jones, Jack said he struck an agreement on Jones' behalf with Spencer Davis in 1995, paying her $375,000 and providing "for monthly payments for child support which ultimately totaled over $2 million."

Jones has not acknowledged that Davis is his biological daughter. Asked why he used the term "child support" in his statement, Jack said, "I used the term child support because that's what the agreement calls it." Asked if the "child support" payments indicate that Jones is Davis' father, Jack paused for five seconds before saying, "I am not going to answer that one. My statement speaks for itself."

Asked why Jones paid millions to Davis and her mother if Davis was not his daughter, Jones spokesman Jim Wilkinson declined to comment.

Jack and Wilkinson declined to release a copy of the agreement that set up two trusts that have paid Davis and her mother more than $1.3 million over the past 25 years. Two additional lump sum payments are due to Davis when she turns 26 and 28 years old.

Through her attorney, Davis has asked a court to revoke the agreement struck by her mother when she was 1 and for Jones to be declared her father. Her lawyer, Andrew A. Bergman, has said repeatedly that she is not seeking money and that, after years of being shunned by Jones, his client wants only to be able to put his name on her birth certificate.

But Jack said he got a far different impression of Davis' motives when he met with her and her mother for dinner at a Dallas steakhouse several years ago.

"In that meeting, Alex read to me a personal letter she had drafted to Jerry Jones in which she expressed her dissatisfaction with what she had received and sought $20 million," Jack said. "She stated that if that amount was paid, she would not bother Mr. Jones again and would keep their relationship confidential."

Neither Jack nor Wilkinson could provide proof of the letter or a date of the dinner. Wilkinson said it was "three or four years ago."

"Let's see the letter," Bergman said Thursday. "And let's see the evidence that more money was paid beyond those agreements. And I would ask why? Is Jerry saying that money is a substitute for being a father? Do the millions make him a good father and do they make my client an extortionist? Don't forget the money was contingent on her being silent."

Davis, an aide to U.S. Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas), has declined to comment to ESPN and other media outlets.

In a court filing Monday, Jones accused Davis of filing the lawsuit after attempting unsuccessfully to extort money from him, an assertion adamantly denied by Bergman. Wilkinson said the dinner meeting with Jack supports the allegation.

"This clearly demonstrates that money has always been the ultimate goal here," Wilkinson said. "And sadly this is just one part of a more broad calculated and concerted effort that has been going on for some time by multiple people with various different agendas."

Jack told ESPN that periodic requests from Davis and her mother for money and other expenses exceeded the amount that Jones agreed to pay in the trust agreement by nearly $1 million over the years.

Those additional expenses include $33,000 for Davis' "Sweet 16" birthday party, which was featured on the reality TV show "Big Rich Texas." In addition, Jones paid "all of Alex's education expenses," including four years at SMU and one year at a private high school, Wilkinson said. Jones also paid $24,000 for Davis to take a trip abroad after she graduated from college and $25,000 for Davis and her mother to take a Christmas vacation in Paris, Wilkinson said.

"The facts clearly show that millions of dollars have been paid," Wilkinson said, "and on top of that, a $20 million shakedown attempt was made. I think this speaks for itself as to the motives."

On March 10, a demand letter from a Jones attorney connects the Davis paternity lawsuit and numerous other recent Cowboys scandals to the ongoing contentious divorce battle between Jones' daughter, Charlotte Jones Anderson, and her ex-husband, Shy Anderson. The letter, obtained by ESPN, advises Anderson to preserve documents "to determine whether a conspiracy exists among yourself and others including, without limitation, certain of your lawyers." The letter to Anderson states that Jones has asked attorney Charles L. Babcock "to investigate whether he has potential claims against you and others for conversion [extortion] and other torts."

The letter advises Jones' longtime son-in-law to preserve documents and other evidence in 10 categories, including communications he might have had with Davis and her mother. Other specified topics that lawyers asked Anderson to preserve include "All efforts to obtain monies from Mr. Jones directly or indirectly" and "All efforts to obtain information you and/or your counsel consider embarrassing to Mr. Jones."

"The evidence preservation letter speaks for itself," Wilkinson said Thursday. The divorce lawyer for Anderson, Lisa G. Duffee, did not return messages from ESPN.

Wilkinson said Bergman, the lawyer for Davis, held two meetings with Levi A. McCathern, an outside lawyer for Jones, and his law partner after filing the lawsuit March 3 in which Bergman allegedly demanded money to settle the case.

Wilkinson quoted Bergman as saying in the first meeting, "If you want this just to go away, it's going to cost you Zeke or Dak money."

"There was never a discussion about a nonmonetary resolution. Money was always part of the deal," Wilkinson said.

Bergman said Thursday that he never asked for a dollar to settle the case.

"It is absolutely false -- and they know it -- that I ever demanded money on behalf of Alex," Bergman said. "They said, 'What does she want?' And I said she wants to establish parentage, and Jerry can do it cooperatively or not. Levi said Jerry's not going to do that because of Mama Gene. Levi said Jerry said Alex will never be part of our family in a picture when we raise money for the Salvation Army. That's the truth."

Wilkinson said McCathern strongly denied saying those words to Bergman.

"Now they've changed their story yet again," Wilkinson said. "First it wasn't about money. Now it is about money. And now they are on three sides of a two-sided issue. They are all over the map here. Pick a story and stick with it. This is clownish."

A hearing scheduled to determine if the complaint remains sealed was canceled Thursday after lawyers for Jones withdrew their request to have it sealed. It is not known when the lawyers will return to court.

Pro Bowl linebacker Bobby Wagner will be staying in the NFC West next season despite his release by the Seattle Seahawks earlier this month.

Wagner agreed to terms on a five-year contract with the Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams, the team announced Thursday.

Financial terms were not disclosed, but sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter the deal is for $50 million and can be worth up to $65 million if Wagner reaches incentives.

It will mark a homecoming for Wagner, who was born in Los Angeles and attended high school in Ontario, California, about 35 miles east of the city. Wagner becomes the latest big-name player to join a star-studded Rams defense that already includes defensive tackle Aaron Donald and cornerback Jalen Ramsey.

Donald (five), Wagner (four) and Ramsey (three) have all earned at least three first-team All-Pro selections over the past five seasons. Only six defensive players in the NFL have achieved that feat over that time period, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.

The Rams had a need at one of their inside linebacker spots after they declined to tender Troy Reeder as a restricted free agent.

The Baltimore Ravens also were in the mix to sign Wagner before he decided to sign with the Rams. The Dallas Cowboys also had interest in Wagner.

Wagner publicly and privately voiced his unhappiness over how the Seahawks handled his release earlier this month. Seahawks general manager John Schneider and coach Pete Carroll expressed their regret over how they communicated those plans to Wagner.

Wagner, 31, was the last remaining member of the star-studded defenses that led Seattle to its lone world championship and a return trip to Super Bowl XLIX after the 2014 season.

Wagner, the Seahawks' all-time tackles leader with 1,383, is coming off a 170-tackle season that earned him his eighth Pro Bowl nod in 10 seasons. He posted that personal best despite missing all but one snap of the final two games with a knee sprain.

While Wagner didn't make as many impact plays as in some of his best seasons, he recorded an interception, a sack, a forced fumble and five passes defended in 2021 en route to a second-team All-Pro selection.

In 2020, Wagner was one of 22 defenders named by the Pro Football Hall of Fame to the All-Decade Team for the 2010s. His Hall of Fame-worthy résumé also includes six first-team All-Pro selections, two second-team All-Pro selections and eight Pro Bowls nods, tied for second most in franchise history.

ESPN's Brady Henderson contributed to this report.