Players in the World Cup to Have AI Avatars to Aid Refereeing

Every player will have a highly detailed digital “AI avatar” in the 2026 World Cup that will assist video assistant referees in making decisions. The initiative, which involves scanning every player to create precise 3D models, could make individual height and body dimensions a factor in how offside calls are judged. 

The announcement came from FIFA President Gianni Infantino during a keynote at the Consumer Electronics Show held in Las Vegas. The tournament, spread across Mexico, the U.S., and Canada, will feature 104 matches. 

Infantino noted that the introduction of player-specific digital models would improve how officials interpret marginal calls, particularly those involving positioning. He added that AI-based avatars would allow referees to identify and track players more accurately, leading to quicker decisions and visuals that are easier to understand. 

The system builds on semi-automated offside technology, which already assists VAR by monitoring player and ball positions through an array of cameras. In leagues such as the Premier League, the technology uses 30 cameras to monitor thousands of data points per player during a match. However, the existing models rely on standardized outlines rather than exact body measurements. 

By incorporating the exact dimensions of each player, FIFA expects the new system to improve both speed and accuracy. The avatars are designed to reliably monitor players even during obscured or rapid movements. 

FIFA confirmed that every player will undergo a full 3D scan before the tournament, a process taking roughly one second to capture detailed body measurements. The models will then be integrated into VAR’s offside calculations and are intended to enhance broadcast coverage, providing fans with more realistic and engaging visuals of contentious calls. 

Alongside the avatar rollout, FIFA announced a strengthened partnership with technology company Lenovo, which includes the launch of a new data platform called Football AI Pro. This platform will be accessible to all participating nations and aims to reduce disparities between teams with different levels of resources. Lenovo is also releasing a World Cup edition of its Motorola Razr phone. 

Infantino said the 2026 tournament would be unlike anything seen before, predicting record-breaking attendance and global viewership. He described the event as a series of showcase spectacles that would draw millions of travelling supporters and billions of viewers worldwide, claiming the competition would capture global attention in a way few sporting events ever have. 

As entities like GlobalTech Corp. (OTC: GLTK) advance their innovative tech products, we are likely to see even more widespread adoption of these technologies that have started deepening their penetration of the sports industry. 

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