Lenovo and FIFA have unveiled a package of AI-driven tournament systems, which they said will support officiating, team analysis and event operations at the FIFA World Cup 2026 – co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico in a 48-team, 104-match format.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino and Lenovo Chairman and CEO Yuanqing Yang introduced the tools at Lenovo Tech World 2026 on the opening day of CES at Sphere in Las Vegas.
The “Football AI” bundle includes Football AI Pro, AI-enabled 3D player avatars, and an updated “Referee View” stream built on referee body cameras. Lenovo is FIFA World Cup 2026’s official technology partner and will provide AI-enabled devices, infrastructure, software, solutions and services for the tournament.
Team analysis: Football AI Pro
Football AI Pro is the centerpiece for teams. The generative AI “knowledge assistant” is designed to support all 48 participating teams with pre- and post-match analysis, with the same analytical capabilities available across the field.
The tool is powered by Lenovo’s full-stack AI capabilities and built on FIFA’s Football Language model, and that it analyzes hundreds of millions of FIFA-owned and -organized data points to generate “validated insights” in text, video, graphs and 3D visualizations, with prompts supported in many languages. FIFA said it can be used before and after matches, but not during live play.
Officiating and broadcast
For officiating, AI-enabled 3D player avatars are being added as a “significant development” in semi-automated offside technology.
Players will be digitally scanned to create precise 3D models; According to FIFA, each scan takes about one second and captures body-part dimensions that help the system track players during fast or obstructed movements.
The 3D models will be incorporated into the host broadcast so offside decisions determined by the VAR system can be displayed more realistically to fans in stadiums and to viewers worldwide, and that the technology was tested at the FIFA Intercontinental Cup last year.
FIFA and Lenovo will also deploy a new iteration of Referee View, building on a trial of referee body cameras at the inaugural FIFA Club World Cup in 2025. FIFA said AI-powered stabilization software will smooth the referee camera footage in real time and reduce motion blur from rapid movement, while Lenovo said it will sponsor use of the Referee View footage during World Cup 2026 broadcasts.
Operations and fan experience
On the operations side, Lenovo will supply tournament device delivery, experience support and warehouse services, and will integrate AI into tournament operations via an Intelligent Command Center that provides AI-generated daily summaries and real-time monitoring across the tournament footprint.
Lenovo will use “digital twins” of venues to help monitor situations around stadiums and will deploy Smart Wayfinding that links host cities, fan zones and points of interest via an interactive space with real-time venue intelligence and AI-guided navigation.