Referees from around the world have taken part in seminars organised by FIFA as part of efforts to ensure the highest possible standard of officiating at the inaugural FIFA Club World Cup. The 32-team tournament, to be held in the United States from June 14 to July 13, will usher in a new era for global club football and its importance places an extra responsibility on referees. The most recent seminar, for FIFA referees from UEFA, was held at the Home of FIFA from 31 March to 4 April 2025. Another seminar was held in Dubai for FIFA match officials from the AFC, CAF and the OFC from 2 to 4 February and one for FIFA referees from CONMEBOL and Concacaf took place in Buenos Aires from 24 to 28 February.

“It will be a very, very interesting competition. (It’s the) first time ever to have the best clubs around the world, from each corner of the world competing," said Chairman of the FIFA Referees Committee Pierluigi Collina. "So it's, I would say, an extra responsibility for us, for refereeing, because we want to have our referees ready in the best conditions when the competition will start. And we are aware that a high standard of refereeing is key to having a successful competition." For those selected, Mr Collina said that taking part in a new tournament would be an added privilege. “As every new competition (starts), the referees (who) will be selected will be among those who have the privilege to be part of this (for) the first time ever. So I'm sure that all the match officials will be thrilled to be selected," he said.

As always, FIFA is monitoring the performances of its match officials in their domestic and international competitions. "We are following (and) monitoring their fitness, their health. Basically, we try to provide them all the support they may need. Our objective, our goal is to have the FIFA ‘Team One’ at the very best of their conditions when the ball will start rolling in Miami." Massimo Busacca, FIFA Director of Refereeing, said that it was important for referees to keep a low profile on the pitch. "We have to see football and goals, not refereeing. Refereeing, I always say, is the actor who you must not see during the game. You don’t even know what a good referee did or who he is, but they have to be prepared in case something happens," he said.

He added that understanding the game and the players was the key to successful refereeing. "We believe in our philosophy; we believe a lot in our football understanding; we believe a lot in positioning, reading, anticipation, communication – all the skills are crucial for a referee because we have to understand players and teams, not (that) teams and players have to understand us." Following changes to the laws of the game approved by The International Football Association Board (IFAB) on 1 March 2025, the FIFA Club World Cup will implement new rules designed to cut down on time-wasting by goalkeepers. Referees will also use body-cams on a trial basis after tests were approved by IFAB.

“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 Mr Collina, emphasising that it was a trial. “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, to evaluate how the call was made by the referee, which was his view, and so on. So it's a combination of new experience for broadcasters and also for coaching purposes.“