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This year's FIFA World Cup is historic on many levels, from its new 48-team format to a total of 104 matches played since 11 June.
It's an age-old competition that needs help behind the scenes to provide insight, innovation and much more.
Enter Lenovo, a global technology powerhouse that serves as FIFA's official technology partner, helping to deliver AI solutions to power this summer's World Cup at its host venues in North America and around the world.
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Lenovo is the official technology partner of FIFA leading up to the 2026 World Cup. (Lenovo/Fox News)
“The FIFA World Cup represents the biggest stage in world sports and one of the most complex technological environments in the world,” Jeff Shafer, senior vice president of corporate marketing and chief communications officer at Lenovo, told Fox Business in an exclusive statement. “As the Official Technology Partner of the tournament, Lenovo helps strengthen the event that will connect billions of fans in 16 locations and three countries, where performance and reliability must be flawless at all times throughout the game.
“For us, this partnership is more than putting our mark on the field; it's an opportunity to show that Lenovo's portfolio full of stacks – from devices and infrastructure to solutions and services powered by AI – can deliver at the highest level and under the toughest pressure. If our technology can help power the world's biggest competition, it can help organizations solve their toughest challenges anywhere.”
As Shafer said, this partnership goes beyond Lenovo's appearances at FIFA World Cup games. It's a series of technical solutions that both organizations have worked together to impact all areas of the game, starting with the landmark announcement of Football AI Pro.
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Integrated by FIFA and Lenovo, Football AI Pro will deliver unprecedented access to millions of data points and over 2,000 performance metrics for every team participating in the World Cup to access with strong privacy protections. The insight and analysis that coaches, players and analysts can do can help level the playing field for those teams that lack the same resources as big clubs like France, England and the US.
“With Football AI Pro, we will democratize access to data by providing a complete set of football statistics to all competing teams and fans soon,” FIFA president Gianni Infantino said in a statement. “However, this is just the beginning, so fans should always look forward to exciting developments with Football AI, and other innovations, as FIFA and Lenovo create unforgettable things in the coming months and years.”
While the teams will be using that tool on and off the field, one of the most notable applications of AI by Lenovo and FIFA will be the one that everyone sees during the games: digital avatars.
Argentina striker Lionel Messi (10) kisses his World Cup medal after winning the 2022 World Cup final against France at Lusail Stadium. (Yukihito Taguchi/USA Today Sports/IMAGN)
There will be 3D avatars generated by the players in the competition using 3D material and GenAI technology, which will help support the efficiency of the decision-making process by the referees during the matches. In just six seconds, the player will enter a circle full of cameras that capture his body to create a 3D material, which will be used in important situations.
For example, during offside replays in a match, 3D animations will appear on the screen, giving the appearance of greater content to fans watching at home and in the stadium. The digital avatars will replicate the physical dimensions of each of the contestants.
“AI-powered 3D avatars mark a major step forward in how officiating technology supports accuracy and transparency,” FIFA secretary-general Mattias Grafström said in a statement. “By combining accurate player data with advanced visualizations, this innovation strengthens confidence in key decisions and brings fans closer to the process than ever before.”
In addition, a new place to watch the intense game on the field will be characterized by the referee's camera, Lenovo's AI solution that helps to stabilize the moment, giving a clear view of the viewer at home.
“This is an effective AI system,” said Art Hu, Lenovo's chief information officer and chief technology delivery officer of the Solutions and Services Group, in a statement. “This is not abstract. It is very real and we are working with FIFA to make it more accessible, simpler and easier to use.”
Details of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Match Ball “Trionda” at Brooklyn Bridge Park on October 2, 2025, in New York City. (Photos by Sarah Stier/Getty/Getty Images)
Finally, the unprecedented operational and operational challenge the World Cup poses to FIFA and its partners is the biggest ever in 2026 given the number of games held across the continent and billions more viewers around the world.
There will be an Intelligent Command Center supporting all areas of work at FIFA, while providing insightful daily summaries generated by AI, which will monitor all FIFA World Cup activities in real time. It will help officials to monitor, respond to situations when needed and observe trends throughout the history of the tournament.
And this will help the fans, as Lenovo has developed “digital twins” for all areas of use, where they can provide real-time data that will show where the crowds are building, where the lines are the shortest and how people are moving around.
Lenovo's Smart Wayfinding, which provides cities, fan locations, landmarks, locations and all key points of interest that can be explored for fans in an interactive environment, will have real-time intelligence and AI-guided navigation attached to it, providing a seamless experience for all.
Lenovo offers FIFA a platform for AI opportunities that will impact officials, players and coaches, and fans ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. (Lenovo/Fox News)
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To promote Lenovo's messages about how it affects the FIFA World Cup, and the FIFA Women's World Cup in 2027, the brand launched its “Maximum David” campaign with the legend David Bekcham. The campaign highlights how AI-driven technology is elevating Beckham's creativity, performance and influence and how it will ultimately impact all participants in the tournament.
From teams looking to data to their advantage to fans getting unprecedented views of the world's biggest game on the field, Lenovo and FIFA are working together to bring the game to the world like never before.
It will also start soon, as the first match of the World Cup will be held on June 11.
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