FIFA introduced its squad of 117 match officials, on Monday for the inaugural Club World Cup and said referees would wear body cameras and implement harsher goalie time-wasting restrictions at the competition to be hosted across the United States.

For the June 14–13 event, the FIFA Referees Committee selected 35 referees, 58 assistant referees, and 24 video match officials from 41 member nations.

According to FIFA, goalkeepers who retain the ball for more than eight seconds will now be given corner kicks instead of indirect free kicks, while body cams will give fans access to never-before-seen on-field action.

Read Also:Infantino Says 2025 FIFACWC Will Feature 32 Clubs

“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,” said Pierluigi Collina, chairman of the FIFA Referees Committee.

“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.”

Collina emphasised how significant the selections were for the enlarged competition, which will include 32 teams from all six FIFA confederations and take place over 12 stadiums in 11 host cities in the United States.

“The selected referees are among those who have the privilege to be part of this for the first time, so I’m sure that all the match officials will be thrilled,” he said.

“We are coming from high-standard performances delivered during the last FIFA tournaments.

“So the bar is higher and when you set 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 to the success of this exciting competition.”