Zurich, April 14 (QNA) - The FIFA Referees Committee announced Monday the list of officials who will officiate the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, scheduled to take place from June 14 to July 13 across 12 stadiums in the United States.

A total of 117 referees will oversee the matches, including 35 main referees, 58 assistant referees, and 24 video assistant referees (VAR), representing 41 national football associations.

The list includes four referees from Qatar: Salman Al Falahi (main referee), Ramzan Al Naimi and Majed Al Shammari (assistant referees), and Khamees Al Marri (VAR referee).

The selection followed an extensive preparation process, which included workshops with FIFA referees from all six continental federations.

Commenting on the appointment of Team One, the chairman of the FIFA Referees Committee, Pierluigi Collina, said that it would be a "privilege" for those chosen to officiate at the very first edition of the FIFA Club World Cup.

Collina said, "As every new competition starts, 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." "We are coming from high standard performances delivered during the last FIFA tournaments. So the bar is higher and when you get 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." "I like to compare the preparation of a football team and a referee team because both need to work hard and deliver to the highest standards," noted FIFA Director of Refereeing Massimo Busacca.

"We try to find as much uniformity and consistency as possible in what we are doing because football is the same everywhere, but we know that we have to understand the different mentality in football, and this is crucial." In line with the changes to the Laws of the Game approved by The International Football Association Board (The IFAB), FIFA will implement new rules designed to cut down on time-wasting by goalkeepers. If a goalkeeper holds the ball for longer than eight seconds (with the referee using a visual five-second countdown), the referee will award a corner kick to the opposing team (rather than the current indirect free kick for more than six seconds).

In addition, following The IFAB's support for FIFA's undertaking to test body cameras worn by match officials to identify possible future use and develop quality and safety standards, referees will be equipped with body cameras on a trial basis at the FIFA Club World Cup. The live footage from these cameras will be made available to fans across the world via DAZN, the exclusive global broadcaster of the FIFA Club World Cup 2025. (QNA)