Referees to Wear Body Cams at 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, but not for Controversial Moments

Referees at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup will wear body cameras for the first time, offering fans a unique officiating perspective.

While major calls stay off-screen, the trial aims to enhance transparency and engagement through immersive, on-field referee footage.

In a bold move to modernize football broadcasting, referees at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup will wear body cameras, a first-of-its-kind innovation for any major FIFA tournament. The cameras aim to give fans an inside view of match officiating, but with a catch: controversial moments will remain off-camera.

The announcement was made on Wednesday by FIFA refereeing officials, who described the initiative as part of ongoing efforts to make the game more engaging and transparent for fans, particularly those watching from home.

The tiny cameras, which will be mounted on referees’ earpieces, are designed to deliver point-of-view footage from the officials themselves. However, the cameras will only record non-controversial parts of the game, meaning viewers won’t get an inside look at heated penalty calls, red cards, or game-defining VAR checks.

“The objective is to offer TV viewers a new experience,” said Pierluigi Collina, Chairman of the FIFA Referees Committee.

“This is a trial, and the simpler, the better. We fixed some rules within a protocol. In the future, will we show controversial footage? Maybe when we learn to run. Maybe not.”

The upcoming Club World Cup, scheduled to be held in six NFL stadiums across the United States, will serve as the testing ground for this new officiating tech.

Using a secure private 5G network, the body cam footage will be transmitted live to broadcasters inside the venues, giving fans dynamic angles of goals, saves, warm-up sessions, the coin toss, and other behind-the-scenes moments. However, this live transmission will not be available globally just yet, it’s being limited to on-site operations for the trial phase.

Johannes Holzmüller, FIFA’s Director of Innovation, stated that the new body cam technology is part of a broader initiative to enhance fan immersion and make officiating processes more transparent to the public.

“This is a step toward greater transparency and immersive engagement,” Holzmüller stated. “We’re not just trialing tech for tech’s sake, it’s about improving how the game is experienced.”

New era of transparency with VAR decisions

In addition to body cameras, fans will see another game-changing innovation rolled out at the tournament. For the first time, pitchside VAR reviews conducted by referees will be shown live on the giant screens inside the stadiums. Once the referee has made a decision after consulting the monitor, they will also announce the ruling over the stadium’s PA system, and the decision will be simultaneously shown on broadcast feeds.

This move mirrors practices in other sports like the NFL and rugby, where decisions are explained in real-time to spectators, reducing confusion and boosting fan trust.

The innovations come as part of FIFA’s ongoing efforts to modernize the game and appeal to younger audiences who expect richer digital experiences and greater access to what happens on the pitch.

Despite the promise of referee body cams, FIFA has made it clear this trial won’t dive into the sport’s most contentious moments. So, while fans can expect cool angles on goals and pre-match rituals, they won’t see what the ref sees during those critical, game-altering decisions, at least not yet.

FIFA officials hinted that the door isn’t entirely closed on this idea for the future. If the technology proves effective and public interest grows, controversial footage may be included in later phases of the project.

For now, it’s a cautious but progressive step that could reshape the viewing experience at one of the world’s most anticipated football events.