FIFA has announced the appointment of 117 match officials from 41 member associations to officiate at the inaugural FIFA Club World Cup 2025™ following a comprehensive preparation process.
The tournament, which will take place from 14 June to 13 July across 12 stadiums in 11 host cities in the United States, will feature 35 referees, 58 assistant referees and 24 video match officials.
Pierluigi Collina, chairman of the FIFA Referees Committee, described officiating at the first edition of the expanded tournament as a “privilege” for those chosen.
“As every new competition starts, the selected referees are among those who have the privilege to be part of this for the first time,” said Collina. “The bar is higher and when you get the bar higher, it’s more difficult to keep the standard. But we are working very hard and Team One will make a solid contribution.”
In a significant innovation, referees will wear body cameras on a trial basis, with the live footage available to viewers worldwide through DAZN, the exclusive global broadcaster of the tournament.
“We think that it is a good chance to offer viewers a new experience, in terms of images taken from a perspective which was never offered before,” Collina explained, noting that the footage would also serve referee coaching purposes.
The tournament will also implement new rules approved by The International Football Association Board (The IFAB) aimed at reducing time-wasting by goalkeepers. Goalkeepers holding the ball for longer than eight seconds will concede a corner kick rather than an indirect free kick.
FIFA Director of Refereeing Massimo Busacca emphasised the importance of consistency in officiating standards: “We try to find as much uniformity as possible because football is the same everywhere, but we know that we have to understand the different mentality in football, and this is crucial.”
Tags: FIFA Club World Cup 2025, match officials, Pierluigi Collina, referee body cameras, DAZN, time-wasting rules, FIFA referees, football innovation
The list of match officials appointed for the FIFA Club World Cup is available here.
