Apart from the blatantly obvious, there are some noticeable differences between the World Cup of Darts and the FIFA version currently taking place in America.

So much so, it got me wondering whether some of football’s traditions and innovations could somehow find their way into the darts equivalent. Probably not, but it’s worth asking the questions, isn’t it?

HOME AND AWAY KITS

If you’ve been reading my World Cup of Darts reports, you’ll know this is something I’ve been banging on about more than anything else. Of all the suggestions I’m about to throw out there, this one feels like the only genuinely realistic idea.

Is it confusing which team is which at the oche? Not massively. The players aren’t suddenly going to fist-bump one of their opponents by mistake – although, God knows, they do enough of that already – but surely there’s no harm in making things clearer.

Think merchandise sales. Think simplicity. Think of the casual viewer who doesn’t have to wonder who the hell is throwing. Matt Porter, if you’re reading this, what do you reckon?

VAR

Like football, darts has referees. Unlike football, they rarely need to consult a screen to determine whether someone was offside or whether one player has slid the life out of an opponent and launched him into the front row.

Still, perhaps there could be room for some outside intervention when things are missed. Take encroachment, for example. Michael van Gerwen loves getting up close and personal when his opponent is throwing. How about a yellow card for the shiny-headed Dutchman?

The officials can’t see everything. The scorers are too busy scribbling numbers down, which is essentially their entire purpose. They’re not there to determine whether someone was ahead of play when the other bloke let go of his dart. There are no offsides in darts. But perhaps there could be.

RED CARDS

This ties into the previous point. How about if Owen Binks could actually send people off?

I’ve watched his social media videos. They’re funny, but they aren’t exactly going to sweep the Oscars. The man clearly has a bee in his bonnet about plenty of things, so why not arm him with a red and yellow card and let him dish them out whenever he sees fit?

You’d certainly pay attention if Binksey started marching players to the dressing room like Pierluigi Collina after six espressos.

TIME WASTING

We all know the usual suspects here. In football, you book the culprit and add time on at the end. That obviously wouldn’t work in darts because a leg ends when it ends. But surely there should be some sort of punishment. Take too long and you lose points. Or perhaps the visit doesn’t count at all. There should be a shot clock.

I don’t want to return from the bar and discover that the bloke still hasn’t thrown his first dart. Nobody enjoys watching a player take longer to throw three arrows than it takes to run the London Marathon.

NATIONAL ANTHEMS

These are commonplace at international sporting events but are conspicuous by their absence at the World Cup of Darts. For God’s sake, they play The Star-Spangled Banner before WrestleMania, and that’s closer to theatre than sport.

Imagine the winners standing hand on heart, staring solemnly at the flagpole while their national anthem belts out around a few thousand mildly refreshed Germans. Would it look a little daft? Absolutely. Which is probably why they don’t do it.

Still, perhaps save it for the final. If they did it before every group match, we’d have twelve games in the opening sessions and still be there when Germany hosts the next tournament.

I’m sure there are plenty of other ideas. But if I want the PDC chief executive to take me even mildly seriously, this will have to do for now. What does everyone think? Any other suggestions?