FIFA President Infantino Highlights How AI Will Impact 2026 FIFA World Cup and BeyondAI-generated 3D player avatars take offside technology to the next levelBy Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Monday, January 12, 2026 - 1:08 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
FIFA and Lenovo have unveiled a series of artificial-intelligence-driven technological innovations intended to enhance officiating technologies, match analysis capabilities and performance, and drive fan engagement ahead of the game-changing 48-team FIFA World Cup 2026.
Revealed by FIFA President Gianni Infantino and Lenovo Chairman/CEO Yuanqing Yang at Lenovo Tech World 2026, the Football AI innovations comprise Football AI Pro, AI-enabled 3D player avatars, and an updated version of the Referee View broadcast footage. The technologies underline FIFA's strategic focus on digital innovation and AI, as outlined in its Strategic Objectives for the Global Game: 2023-27.
FIFA's Gianni Infantino says Lenovo will power next-generation AI services for FIFA.
FIFA's Official Technology Partner for the FIFA World Cup 2026 and the FIFA Women's World Cup 2027, Lenovo provides AI-enabled devices, infrastructure, software, solutions, and services at FIFA's two flagship competitions and across world football's governing body.
A lead innovation for FIFA World Cup 2026, Football AI Pro is a generative-AI knowledge assistant developed to support all 48 participating teams in Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. The tool reflects a shared ambition to harness innovation not only to advance elite performance but also to help level the playing field in an increasingly data-driven sport.
At the highest level of the game, access to sophisticated analysis often depends on the financial and technical resources at a team's disposal. Football AI Pro seeks to address this imbalance, with all 48 competing teams at global football's premier event set to benefit from the same advanced pre/postmatch analytical capabilities.
Powered by Lenovo's full-stack AI capabilities and built on FIFA's Football Language model, Football AI Pro analyses hundreds of millions of FIFA owned-and-organized football data points to generate validated insights in text, video, graphic, and 3D visualizations. The interface will support prompts in many languages and will deliver consistent, tournament-wide intelligence based on millions of football data points per game. The new tool can be used before and after matches for match analysis but not during live play.
AI-enabled 3D player avatars represent a significant development in semi-automated offside technology. Players participating in the upcoming global showpiece will be digitally scanned to create a precise 3D model. Each scan takes approximately one second and captures highly accurate body-part dimensions, allowing the system to track players reliably during fast or obstructed movements.
In addition, the 3D models will be incorporated into the host broadcast, enabling offside decisions determined by the video assistant referee (VAR) system to be displayed more realistically and in a more engaging way to fans at stadiums and to viewers around the world.
The technology was successfully tested at last year's FIFA Intercontinental Cup, with CR Flamengo and Pyramids FC players scanned ahead of their FIFA Challenger Cup showdown. The system was trialled throughout the match, demonstrating its capability and readiness to support match officials at the FIFA World Cup 2026.
FIFA and Lenovo have also launched a new iteration of Referee View, building on the successful trial of the original version at last year's inaugural FIFA Club World Cup. AI-powered stabilization software will be deployed to smooth footage from the referee's camera in real time, reducing motion blur caused by rapid movement. The stabilized footage will deliver a higher-quality, first-person perspective for global audiences, enhancing transparency, understanding, and engagement throughout the match.
The FIFA World Cup in 2026 is going to be the greatest show ever on planet Earth, says Infantino. Seven million people will attend the 104 matches - [the equivalent of] 104 Super Bowls - dozens of millions of fans will travel to North America to feel the FIFA World Cup vibe, 6 billion people will watch it from home, and the world will stand still.
FIFA and Lenovo, he continues, are fully embracing digital technologies and artificial intelligence, Football AI, to support teams and match officials while also providing a new mind-blowing experience to fans worldwide. With Football AI Pro, we will democratize access to data by providing the most complete set of football analytics to all competing teams and soon to fans as well.
The next generation of Referee View will show new AI-enabled stabilized pictures to make the viewing experience unique - as if you are in the center of the field with the players, Infantino says. And AI-enabled 3D avatars will ensure precise player identification and tracking - a big advance in semi-automated offside technology providing great images, faster decisions, and a clear understanding by everyone.
But of course, he adds, this is just the beginning. Fans worldwide should stay tuned for more exciting developments with Football AI and other innovations, as FIFA and Lenovo create unforgettable experiences in the months and years ahead.
Yang notes that FIFA World Cup 2026, powered by Lenovo AI, will be most technologically advanced in history. We are providing complete IT solutions, enhancing the delivery and experience of the tournament at every level. Football AI Pro will be a game-changer, and we can't wait to see it, as well as our other innovations developed with FIFA used at FIFA World Cup 2026.
Europe Stories
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
01/04/2026
January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION
Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...
12/03/2026
Staines-upon-Thames, UK, 11th March, 2026 - Yospace, the trusted leader in Dyna...
12/03/2026
In Latin America, women are shaping music and defining its future. To kick off t...
12/03/2026
En Am rica Latina, las mujeres est n moldeando la m sica y definiendo su futuro....
12/03/2026
Let's turn back the clock 20 years: The music landscape was a world away fro...
12/03/2026
Bad Bunny is no stranger to Spotify's Billions Club. In fact, he has a whopp...
12/03/2026
Spotify was at the London Book Fair this week, joining conversations across the publishing industry about how people can make reading part of their daily lives....
12/03/2026
Mastering tool improves mono compatibility
Tokyo Dawn Labs' Ohlhorst Digital range is a series of mastering-focused plug-ins developed by Jan Ohlhorst, ...
12/03/2026
Wave FX processor integrated into four products
Lewitt have teamed up with Elgato to create a new processor for the company's Wave Next product range, i...
12/03/2026
Free tool for annotating audio files
Mix Notes is a new, free iOS App that provides users with a simple way to annotate their audio files. It's been cre...
12/03/2026
Side-chain ducking tool gets an upgrade
Devious Machines' popular side-chaining and envelope-shaping tool has just been kitted out with an improved enve...
12/03/2026
Ceremony to take place on 16 April 2026
The MPG (Music Producers Guild) have revealed the full shortlist for this year's MPG Awards, which will be takin...
12/03/2026
Emulates three classic dbx 160 variants
The latest arrival to Overloud's Gem Series plug-in range faithfully recreates not one, but three versions of th...
12/03/2026
New granular soft synth announced
Said to be their most advanced software synthesizer to date, Baby Audio's latest release has been built on a new granu...
12/03/2026
Latest version now live!
Edit 11 March 2026 - Bitwig Studio 6 is now live, and available for all to download!
The latest version of Bitwig's DAW softwa...
12/03/2026
Latest free eBook now available!
Designed for recording engineers, audio-technology students and technically minded musicians, our latest free eBook deliver...
12/03/2026
Rohde & Schwarz Cybersecurity expands SITLine network encryptor portfolio - more...
12/03/2026
Rohde & Schwarz to showcase future-proof EMC testing solutions at EMV 2026 Rohde & Schwarz will participate in EMV 2026, Europe's premier trade fair and c...
12/03/2026
Modern media operations demand a platform that unites automation, orchestration, and human oversight without compromise. In this post, we explore the six key te...
12/03/2026
A deep dive into the platform
Architecture The Blue Lucy platform follows a distributed microservices architecture, meaning the overall operational capability...
12/03/2026
Orchestration platform enables broadcasters to deploy multiple AI models safely with full auditability, rights protection, and regulatory oversight.
LONDON, En...
12/03/2026
Wuppertal March 12, 2026
Riedel Expands Managed Technology Division in the Ame...
12/03/2026
Advanced Media Server Delivers Double the Channel Density at Half the Cost per C...
12/03/2026
The Late Late Show Show St Patrick's Day special
Dancing with the Stars f...
11/03/2026
First Medium-Earth Orbit (MEO) deployment of the emergency.lu platform for refugees and their host communities' use provides dependable broadband for humani...
11/03/2026
Following a successful first series, UKTV today announces the commission of two ...
11/03/2026
Wednesday 11 March 2026
Sky and CANAL launch new partnership to develop English-language drama
Sky and CANAL are today announcing a strategic co commissioni...
11/03/2026
NTCA, Cartesian Release New Report on the Business Case for USF
March 11, 2026
Network Economics
News
NTCA - March 11, 2026 - As the FCC and Congr...
11/03/2026
TELL US YOUR (SHORT) STORIES
The 2026 RT Short Story Competition is now open for entries
Recognising and rewarding the best new Irish fiction writing for...
11/03/2026
RT 's The Traitors Ireland is among the nominees for the 2026 Celtic Media Festival Torc Awards for Excellence, announced today....
10/03/2026
10 Mar 2026
VEON's Largest Market Pakistan Almost Triples Mobile Spectrum i...
09/03/2026
Contains all six dual-ensemble libraries
VSL's Duality Strings series offers an intriguing alternative to your average string library, capturing two str...
09/03/2026
Outstanding Contribution To UK Music
Photo: Samuel Bradley
Ahead of their upcoming MPG Awards, the Music Producers Guild (MPG) have revealed the latest win...
09/03/2026
Two new high-quality DI boxes announced
Boasting some impressive technical specifications and versatile routing options, Strymon's latest active DI boxe...
09/03/2026
Latest MPE-capable Soundbox library released
The follow-up release for Sonora Cinematic's Pure Nylon has arrived, and becomes the latest addition to the...
09/03/2026
Popular wireless mic head design revived
Sennheiser have revealed that the MD 9235, a cardioid mic head designed to pair up with their handheld wireless sys...
09/03/2026
Captures two sought-after Dumble combo amps
The latest TONEX release captures a pair of sought-after Dumble amplifiers from IK Multimedia's private amp ...
09/03/2026
Flexible all-analogue insert matrix joins line-up
HUM Audio Devices don't tend to do things by halves - even the quickest of glances at the likes of the...
09/03/2026
Captures three sought-after pianos
Rhodes latest software release brings together a collection of three virtual pianos: a concert grand, an acoustic upright...
09/03/2026
Flagship compressor gets an upgrade
Techivation's flagship compressor plug-in has just been treated to a ground-up rebuild that kits it out with some po...
09/03/2026
Profiler OS 14.0 enters open beta
Kemper's amp-modelling systems already have a great reputation, but the latest update to their systems' underlying...
09/03/2026
Procedural stems smasher & recomposition engine
Blinksonic have recently launched a new Reaktor-based tool which they say takes a radical departure from yo...
09/03/2026
13 - 15 March 2026 at University of Warwick Conference Centre
The Institute of Professional Sound (IPS) have announced that The IPS Training Weekend 2026 wi...
09/03/2026
Rohde & Schwarz and NETGEAR collaborate for next generation Wi-Fi 8 access point...
09/03/2026
UKTV has agreed a new partnership deal with Samsung that makes UKTV's free linear channels available to internet-only Samsung TV viewers in the UK for the f...
FIFA President Infantino Highlights How AI Will Impact 2026 FIFA World Cup and BeyondAI-generated 3D player avatars take offside technology to the next levelBy Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director 
