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- Lenovo signed top-tier sponsorship deal with Fifa in 2024
- Gen AI assistant to produce data-driven insights analysing each team
- Fifa keen to use AI to enhance broadcast and fan experience
Fifa has revealed a number of artificial intelligence (AI) powered innovations developed jointly with Lenovo ahead of the 2026 Fifa World Cup.
Fifa partnered with Lenovo in October 2024, with soccer’s global governing body keen to explore how AI could be deployed to improve broadcasts and the fan experience.
Ahead of this summer’s World Cup, both organisations have unveiled several new innovations, including ‘Football AI Pro’, a generative AI knowledge assistant to support all 48 countries competing in the tournament
The data platform, powered by Lenovo’s technology stack and trained using Fifa’s soccer language model, will analyse hundreds of millions of Fifa-owned and organised soccer data points to produce insights delivered in text, video, graphs and 3D visualisations.
The tool will be accessible via prompts in multiple languages and enable teams to gain tournament-wide intelligence, with every match analysed. Its use will be permitted before and after, but not during, live games.
AI will also be used to produce 3D player avatars of every player to improve the accuracy of semi-automated offside decisions made during the tournament. Each player will be digitally scanned to generate precise body-part dimensions, ensuring the semi-automated offside technology can reliably detect player movement.
Fifa also said the 3D models would be incorporated into the host broadcast, allowing offside decisions made 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 governing body noted the technology had been successfully tested during a game at last year’s Fifa Intercontinental Cup.
Additionlly, Fifa and Lenovo have launched a new iteration of ‘Referee View’, which captures footage from a camera worn by the referee for broadcasters to use. AI-powered stabilisation software will be used to smooth out the clips taken in real time.
“Fifa and Lenovo 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,” said Gianni Infantino, Fifa president.
“With Football AI Pro, we will democratise 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 us new AI-enabled stabilised pictures to make the viewing experience unique – as if you are in the centre of the field with the players.
“And AI-enabled 3D avatars will ensure precise player identification and tracking – a big advancement in semi-automated offside technology providing great images, faster decisions and a clear understanding by everyone.”
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