3 FIFA Club World Cup innovations MLS should adopt right now | OneFootball

After what feels like years of doubt and low expectations, the FIFA Club World Cup has captivated soccer fans in ways most of us probably didn't anticipate.

It hasn't been perfect of course, but the most glaring issues could be rather easily fixed.

To the extent that attendance has been a problem, the issue lies mostly with using gigantic NFL-sized stadiums for many matches when smaller MLS venues with 20,000-30,000 seats would've been more suitable.

To the extent heat has been an issue, FIFA should've known daytime kickoffs in June and July in the United States always risk oppressive conditions. And even if some matches were scheduled for earlier hours with an eye toward European TV audiences, FIFA should've insisted most of those games be played at one of the nation's numerous indoor venues (including four that will be used for the 2026 FIFA World Cup).

As for what's good? Well, there's a lot. And as MLS fans who are seeing the competition play out in our own backyard, there are several innovations Major League Soccer should move to adopt as soon as possible, if not immediately.

Here's three of the best:

The Ref Cam

Mounting a small camera on the head referee's communication equipment sounds kitschy when you say it. But the result has been some fascinating angles of key match sequences that give fans an amazing window into what the action can look like at field level.

What's more, MLS has already used the technology previously in exhibition events, such as past MLS All-Star Games. And as far as cost goes, it's significantly cheaper than other initiatives like semi-automated offside and goal-line technology that the league has resisted so far.

There's no reason not to do this, especially for a league that prided itself on being an early adopter of VAR technology and other rule initiatives.

The head-to-head tiebreaker

Given that the head-to-head tiebreaker is common in other North American pro sports (most notably the NFL), it's a bit surprising that FIFA has chosen to use head-to-head play as its first tiebreaker in group play while MLS does not use it anywhere.

Perhaps that was understandable in previous years, where the MLS schedule was less balanced. It's still not completely symmetrical (teams play disparate out-of-conference schedules), but now with 15 teams in the Eastern Conference and 15 in the West, all MLS clubs play two games each against every conference foe, one home and one away.

Adding the head-to-head tiebreak to decide playoff status and positions is a way to bring some urgency to every match, at a time when the league needs to figure out a way to do just that.

Grass. Like, real grass

Manchester City FC v Al Ain FC: Group G - FIFA Club World Cup 2025 | Kevin C. Cox/GettyImages

Natural grass is no innovation, per se. Playing on natural grass in what are usually artificial surface venues is.

Maybe this is the most far-fetched of MLS requests related to what we've seen so far at this tournament. But MLS players who long to play on natural surfaces like CWC participants have seen at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Bank of America Stadium and Lumen Field can no longer be told it's not possible.

And in the case of each venue, the MLS Players Association could also lean on its more powerful union brethren representing NFL players, who have also expressed interest in scrapping artificial turf.