Match officials will wear body cameras during the tournament, allowing footage to be reviewed for monitoring purposes and potentially included in television broadcasts.
The technology aims to provide greater transparency in officiating and could also serve to observe player-referee interactions more closely. ..Continue Reading
This initiative is part of a broader pilot program that could lead to the implementation of body cams at all levels of football, including the Premier League, in the near future.
Mark Bullingham, the chief executive of the Football Association, has publicly backed the move, viewing it as a way to help protect referees from abuse by players and spectators — especially at grassroots level.
The idea has already received widespread support within English football and has been approved for trial use at the Club World Cup by IFAB, the sport’s governing body on rule changes.
Pierluigi Collina, chair of the FIFA Referees’ Committee, said: “We think that it is a good chance to offer the viewers a new experience, in terms of images taken from a perspective, from an angle of vision which was never offered before.
“It also has a purpose in terms of referee coaching. Because, of course, having the possibility to see what the referee sees is important in the debriefing, to evaluate how the call was made by the referee, which was his view, and so on. So it’s a combination of new experience for broadcasters and also for coaching purposes.”
IFAB has also introduced new regulations aimed at curbing time-wasting, stating that if a goalkeeper holds onto the ball for more than eight seconds, the opposing team will be awarded a corner kick.
This rule will be trialed for the first time at the Club World Cup, where countdown timers will be displayed on large stadium screens — much like the countdown used in rugby for conversions — to help enforce the new time limit.
Collina added: “It will be a very, very interesting competition. [It’s the] first time ever to have the best clubs around the world, from each corner of the world competing.
“So it’s, I would say, an extra responsibility for us, for refereeing, because we want to have our referees ready in the best conditions when the competition starts. And we are aware that a high standard of refereeing is key to having a successful competition.”
Manchester City and Chelsea will be the only English clubs taking part in the newly revamped Club World Cup, which has seen a major overhaul from its previous format.
The 2025 edition has drawn criticism from players, coaches, and club officials due to its extensive restructuring. The tournament will now include 32 teams and adopt a World Cup-style setup, taking place during the summer.
Set to kick off on June 15 and conclude on July 13, the competition will begin in Miami, while the final is scheduled for MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. Other host cities include Los Angeles, Atlanta, Seattle, Philadelphia, and Nashville.
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