Referees to have body cameras at FIFA Club World Cup

FIFA continues to create ideas by the day in a bid to make football more exciting and interesting to those that love it religiously.

The World Football governing body has confirmed a new set of innovations will be implemented at the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup in the United States.

Key among those is the introduction of body cameras for referees during games. This is aimed at making the tournament even more entertaining and engaging for fans, while streamlining operations and boosting transparency.

“Following The International Football Association Board’s approval, referees will wear body cameras at the competition, and the footage will be used by FIFA Club World Cup 2025™ Exclusive Global Broadcaster DAZN as part of live match broadcasts during the tournament,” reads a statement from FIFA.

FIFA hopes to find out whether the new camera angles can improve the experience for those watching on television and online by showcasing the referee’s perspective and then use the findings from the tournament to create guidelines for the use of such cameras in football in future.

Fans that will watch games at stadiums will have the benefit of watching the footage from the body cameras displayed live on the giant screens. This will help them understand easier the decision-making process of the match officials and enhance transparency.

Additionally, FIFA will also use semi-automated offside technology at this year’s FIFA Club World Cup following successful trials at the FIFA Intercontinental Cup 2024 and a number of FIFA’s youth tournaments.

“Utilising multiple cameras, a sensor inside the ball and artificial intelligence, the system tracks players’ positions and the ball, providing automated, real-time alerts to match officials in the event of clear offsides. However, for challenging offside scenarios, the video assistant referee will still validate the information provided by the system before the decision is taken.” FIFA states.

The other innovation is the use of artificial intelligence-driven data for the first time ever at a major tournament. FIFA will use algorithms developed by Football Technology Centre AG, its joint venture with Hawk-Eye Innovations Ltd, to automatically collect the majority of live event data based on the available tracking data.

For the substitutions, referees and team officials will not use the rudimentary way of writing names on papers but rather use substitution tablets. This is aimed at streamlining and organising the substitution process.

Each team will receive a tablet before kick-off to manage requests digitally, ensuring that everyone who needs this information is aligned and providing a clear overview of remaining substitutions.

“FIFA has a proud history of breaking new ground at its elite tournaments, and the FIFA Club World Cup will continue that trend. With the best clubs competing for the title of world champions, it is fitting that these trailblazing innovations will be on display at such a prestigious tournament,” said FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafström. “FIFA is always looking to improve football, and these enhancements will enable a better experience for fans, a smoother operation and an optimised set-up for refereeing decisions,” he added.

The tournament that has attracted 32 teams will run between 15th June to 13th July 2025.

The post Referees to have body cameras at FIFA Club World Cup appeared first on Kawowo Sports.