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Ref cams and player walk-outs: The innovations that help define the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup so far
The group stage of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup is over, allowing fans and players alike to take a breather and assess the impact of the previous two weeks.
It's been a tournament to remember so far, with highlight-reel goals, star-studded match-ups and compelling battles as teams competed to make the knockout stage of the revamped competition.
And while the football has been spectacular at times, some of the most indelible impacts of this tournament have come from the new innovations FIFA have implemented during the summer footballing extravaganza.
Here are the most notable innovations seen (and heard) at the FIFA Club World Cup.
Ref cam
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Viewers around the world are savvier than ever before, with decades of football broadcasts having informed their expectations of what quality presentation should look like.
The permanent scoreboard and widescreen aspect ratio were each seen as novel innovations at one time, as technology pushed forward and brought more of the game into viewers' homes, and this year's FIFA Club World Cup continues to push boundaries in that regard.
The most obvious example of this is the "ref cam," with images emanating from a small camera mounted on the referee's ear and bringing a never-before-seen perspective directly to the fans watching at home or on their mobile devices.
With the tournament taking place in the US, it only seems fitting that a page was taken from North American sporting institutions such as the NHL (ice hockey), NFL football and even MLS, all of which have occasionally outfitted their referees with wearable cameras to share the officials' unique view of what's unfolding in front of them.
This is a feature that we can see catching on quickly, as the ref cam shows the true on-field speed of play in a way wasn't accessible to the regular fan before.
Player walk-ons
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Borrowing a bit from the world of boxing, FIFA have put the spotlight on each and every player taking part in the Club World Cup by having them walk out onto the pitch individually, allowing the in-stadium announcer to proclaim each player's entrance and giving the fans the opportunity to cheer on each one of their heroes separately.
Other sports have implemented player walk-outs, notably tennis and swimming, but it's mostly associated with boxing and professional wrestling as those disciplines have baked it into their identities over the years.
Will entrance music be next?
In-stadium VAR announcements
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The implementation of VAR almost a decade ago was a major shift in the way the game is officiated, as television production began to aid in on-field decisions. The referees could see everything that fans were seeing at home thanks to multiple camera angles and slow-motion technology, providing another tool for officials to ensure fairness within the sport.
However, fans inside the stadium were left in the dark somewhat as video boards switched away while referees conferred, and outside of standard hand signals there was no communication within venues regarding the decisions made with the aid of VAR.
That changed at this summer's Club World Cup, as fans in the stadium were invited into the process. Every VAR decision is now shown on-screen in the stadium in real time, so that fans in the stands can see the same thing that viewers at home are watching.
That's followed by an NFL-style announcement by the referee explaining the decisions — something that's been done in MLS and some previous FIFA competitions, but none as high-profile as the Club World Cup.
More accountability is good, and this appears to be a permanent addition to FIFA tournaments that will be seen at next year's World Cup.
Eight-second rule
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No, we're not talking about food dropping on the floor here, but rather a new innovation by FIFA and the International Football Association Board (IFAB) to help speed up the game and eliminate time-wasting by goalkeepers.
IFAB approved a change in punishment for goalkeepers who hold on to the ball for too long, and we're seeing it in action for the first time in the FIFA Club World Cup (as well as the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the regional championship being played concurrently in the United States).
The previous rule stated that goalkeepers who held on to the ball for more than six seconds would be penalised with an indirect free-kick from the spot in which the infraction occurred — which by definition would mean inside the penalty area. However, the rule was hardly enforced as the punishment was often deemed too harsh, leading to all too many instances where goalkeepers would refuse to release the ball within a reasonable amount of time.
In response, a new eight-second rule has been implemented, complete with a visual countdown by the referee for the final five seconds, to compel goalkeepers to release the ball without the threat of a seemingly overly harsh punishment. That's not to say that there are no consequences for goalies who run afoul of the new rule, but punishment will now be enforced in the form of a corner kick for the opposing team, which still should provide enough motivation for goalkeepers to — literally — get the ball rolling.
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