AI at 2026 World Cup: FIFA & Lenovo Innovations

A FIFA ea Lenovo announced, this Tuesday (01/07/2026), a wide range of innovations based on artificial intelligence focused on arbitration, performance analysis and fan experience for the FIFA World Cup 2026™which will feature 48 selections and 104 matches. The technologies were revealed during the Lenovo Tech World 2026held in Las Vegas, in the United States, during the same period as the opening of CES.

New features include the Soccer AI Prothree-dimensional avatars of players with artificial intelligence and the new generation of Referee Viewa system that offers first-person images from the referee’s camera. The package is part of FIFA’s digital transformation strategy, set out in Strategic Objectives for Global Football 2023–2027and reinforces the entity’s partnership with Lenovo as the official technology supplier for the 2026 Men’s World Cup and the 2027 Women’s World Cup™.

The solutions presented have as their central axis the application of the call “AI for Football”a concept that seeks modernize decision-making processesreduce technical asymmetries between teams and increase transparency and public engagement in a tournament on a scale unprecedented in the history of world football.

Football AI Pro and the standardization of data access

One of the main highlights is the Soccer AI Proassistant generative artificial intelligence developed to support all 48 participating teams of the 2026 World Cup. The tool was designed to act before and after matches, providing advanced analysis without interfering with the progress of games.

In high-performance football, access to sophisticated data often reflects the financial and technological capacity of each federation. Football AI Pro seeks mitigate this imbalanceoffering all teams the same level of analytical information, regardless of structure or budget.

The platform is powered by FIFA Football Language Model and process hundreds of millions of official data pointsorganized by the entity itself. The results are presented in text, video, graphics and 3D visualizationswith support for commands in multiple languages and analytical consistency throughout the entire tournament.

3D avatars and the evolution of semi-automatic hindrance

Another impactful innovation is the introduction of 3D player avatars with artificial intelligencea relevant advance in the semi-automatic offside detection. To this end, the athletes who will compete in the 2026 World Cup will be digitally scanned before the tournament.

Each scan, lasting approximately one second, captures accurate body dimensionsallowing the system to more reliably track players’ movements, even in situations of high speed or visual obstruction. These three-dimensional models will also be incorporated into official broadcasts, making VAR decisions more understandable for fans in stadiums and global audiences.

The technology has already been successfully tested in FIFA Intercontinental Cup™when players from CR Flamengo and the Pyramids FC went through the scanning process before competing for the FIFA Challenger Cup. During the game, the system demonstrated operational stability and arbitration support capabilities.

New generation of Referee View and transparency in arbitration

FIFA and Lenovo also presented the new version of Referee Viewa feature that offers first-person images from the camera attached to the referee. The update incorporates artificial intelligence stabilization softwarecapable of smoothing images in real time and reducing blur caused by sudden movements.

The system was previously tested in FIFA Club World Cup™ and now it has improvements that increase the visual quality and immersion of the viewer. The proposal is increase the transparency of decisionsimprove understanding of the plays and bring the public closer to the real dynamics of the game.

Statements and projections for the 2026 tournament

During the event, the president of FIFA, Gianni Infantinohighlighted the unprecedented dimension of the next World Cup. According to him, about seven million people will follow the 104 games in person, while billion viewers will watch matches all over the world.

The president and CEO of Lenovo, Yuanqing Yangstated that the 2026 World Cup will be the most technologically advanced in historywith integrated IT, artificial intelligence and digital infrastructure solutions aimed at both the tournament operation and the public experience.

Both highlighted that the innovations presented represent only the first stage of a broader set of initiatives planned for the coming years, with a focus on consolidating artificial intelligence as a structural element of modern football.

Technology, standardization and governance in football

The massive incorporation of artificial intelligence by FIFA and Lenovo signals a structural change in football governanceespecially with regard to arbitration and performance analysis. The promise of standardizing data access, through Football AI Pro, responds to a long-standing demand for greater competitive balance in international tournaments.

At the same time, the increased use of technologies such as 3D avatars and Referee View reinforces the search for transparency and legitimacy of decisionsa recurring theme in a sport often marked by refereeing controversies. Visual clarity tends to reduce interpretative disputes, although it does not eliminate debates about criteria and protocols.

On the other hand, the centralization of data and analytical models under FIFA’s control raises institutional discussions about technological dependenceinformation governance and limits between innovation and excessive standardization. The impact of these tools on the technical autonomy of the teams and on the sporting spectacle itself will be one of the main points of observation throughout the tournament.