The 2026 FIFA World Cup is set to be the largest in history, with 48 teams, 104 matches, and a global audience expected to reach into the billions. It’s a scale that goes well beyond anything football has seen before.
But while the format is expanding, the real change sits elsewhere. This is shaping up to be the most technologically advanced World Cup yet, with artificial intelligence embedded across how matches are officiated, analysed, and experienced.
FIFA has been clear about its ambition here. Speaking alongside Lenovo, its official technology partner, President Gianni Infantino positioned AI as central to improving performance, decision-making, and the overall fan experience. The partnership, announced at Lenovo Tech World 2026 with CEO Yuanqing Yang, signals a move from experimentation to full-scale deployment.
The result is a World Cup that will feel familiar in many ways, but fundamentally different in others.
AI and the evolution of refereeing
Few aspects of football attract more attention than refereeing decisions, and this is where AI will be most visible. The 2026 tournament introduces a more advanced approach designed to improve both speed and accuracy, while keeping human officials in control.
The changes include:
- 3D player models for offside decisions
Each player is scanned before the tournament, creating a detailed digital model that allows officials to track movement more precisely.
- Clearer decision visuals for fans
These models are used in replays to show offside calls more transparently, making them easier to understand in real time.
- Sensor-enabled match balls
The ball itself provides additional data on movement and contact, supporting decisions in tight moments.
- Referee cam enhancements
AI stabilisation improves the quality of footage from the referee’s perspective, adding clarity to key incidents.
Taken together, these updates are designed to reduce ambiguity. The aim is not to eliminate debate altogether, but to improve how decisions are made and explained.
Evening the playing field
While officiating will dominate headlines, one of the more meaningful changes sits away from the pitch. Every team in the tournament will have access to Football AI Pro, a system developed by FIFA and Lenovo to support analysts and coaching staff.
Modern football produces vast quantities of data, yet turning that data into actionable insight can still be slow and resource-intensive.
Football AI Pro is designed to streamline that process by:
- Processing official match data, including event and tracking data
- Organising it into tactical phases such as build-up play, pressing, and transitions
- Identifying patterns, trends, and key match moments
- Generating structured reports supported by video clips and visual analysis
This doesn’t replace analysts, but reduces the time spent interpreting raw data and helps teams reach decisions more quickly.
The main stand out here is accessibility. Historically, detailed performance analysis has depended on budget and technical resource. By making this capability available to all 48 teams, FIFA is aiming to create a more consistent analytical baseline across the tournament.
Whether this translates into more competitive outcomes is still yet to play out, but it signals a clear shift in how insight is distributed within the game.
Changing how the game is experienced
For fans, the impact of AI will be most noticeable in how matches are presented and understood.
Rather than introducing entirely new experiences, the focus is on improving clarity and context. Think:
- Clearer visual explanations of key decisions
- Richer in-game statistics and insights
- Improved video quality and more stable viewing angles
The integration of 3D models into replays is particularly significant. It moves beyond drawing lines on a screen and instead shows decisions in a way that feels closer to the actual movement of players.
At a tournament expected to reach billions of viewers, that level of clarity matters. It reduces confusion and brings audiences closer to the decision-making process.
A familiar question around technology and trust
For all the progress, there is still a wider question about how this will be received.
According to the 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer, only 44% of people globally say they trust AI, with the figure dropping to 28% in the UK. That makes the World Cup an interesting test case.
On one level, AI is being positioned as a way to make football fairer and more transparent. Giving every team access to advanced analysis, improving the accuracy of decisions, and helping fans understand what is happening more clearly all point towards a more consistent version of the game.
At the same time, football has already been through something similar with VAR…
Fairer football, or familiar frustrations?
When VAR was introduced, the expectation was simple. Reduce errors, bring more certainty, and improve fairness. In reality, it has been more mixed.
While decisions are often more precise, they are also now more heavily scrutinised. Celebrations can feel tentative, with fans waiting for confirmation, and the flow of the game can suffer when decisions take time or remain open to interpretation.
AI is entering that same space, but with a broader role. It won’t just determine decisions, but also analysis and the way the game is explained. The question is not only whether it works, but whether it feels right for fans in the moment.
Will it be seen as a more consistent and reliable layer behind the game, or will it introduce a similar sense of hesitation that VAR has brought at times?
A turning point beyond football
For the first time at this scale, AI is being applied across officiating, performance analysis, and the fan experience within a single global event. FIFA and Lenovo have framed this as part of a broader effort to modernise the game and make it more accessible through digital technology. The outcome of this will undoubtably influence how audiences experience AI in arenas and events beyond football.
Ultimately, the World Cup is about the experience. And for these new changes, only real matches, real moments, and real reactions will determine their success.
AI finding a home in football is one thing… we’re just waiting to see if anything else is coming home.
