No South African Referees Selected for 2025 FIFA Club World Cup

The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup is set to kick off in the United States from June 14 to July 13 without any South African match officials on duty—a major snub that casts a harsh spotlight on the state of local refereeing.

Despite South Africa boasting 16 officials on FIFA’s international panel, including respected names like Badi Luxolo, Jelly Chavani, Akhona Makalima, and Abongile Tom, none were selected to officiate at the expanded 32-team global tournament. Both Makalima and Tom are also qualified video match officials, yet still failed to make the final list.

The omission comes at a time when South African refereeing standards have come under intense scrutiny. Week after week, match officials have been on the receiving end of fierce criticism for questionable decisions. Most recently, Mamelodi Sundowns were victims of controversial officiating in their Nedbank Cup semi-final exit, further fueling dissatisfaction with the quality of refereeing in the country. Ironically, Sundowns will be South Africa’s representatives at the Club World Cup, while no local referees will be present.

FIFA’s Referees Committee selected 117 officials from 41 member associations following an extensive preparation process, including seminars and evaluations. From Africa, five referees made the cut: Issa Sy (Senegal), Jean Jacques Ndala (DR Congo), Mustapha Ghorbal (Algeria), Ibrahim Mutaz (Libya), and Dahane Beida (Mauritania).

FIFA Referees Committee chairman Pierluigi Collina emphasized the high standards demanded for this tournament. “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,” Collina explained. “But we are working very hard and Team One will make a solid contribution to the success of this exciting competition.”

In addition to the officiating team, FIFA announced key rule changes and innovations for the Club World Cup. In a bid to reduce time-wasting, goalkeepers who hold onto the ball for more than eight seconds will now concede a corner kick to the opposing team. This replaces the former six-second rule that resulted in an indirect free kick.

Another major development is the trial of body cameras on referees. This initiative, backed by the International Football Association Board (IFAB), aims to boost transparency and safety in officiating. The live footage from these cameras will be streamed globally via DAZN, the exclusive broadcaster of the tournament.

While FIFA forges ahead with innovation and high-performance standards, South African officiating finds itself on the sidelines—literally and figuratively—of the world’s biggest club competition.