FIFA says the 2026 World Cup will feature a broad set of artificial intelligence and tracking tools aimed at speeding up officiating, expanding match analysis and improving the viewing experience for fans. The tournament, which will be staged in Canada, Mexico and the United States, is set to be the first World Cup to use advanced semi-automated offside technology.
FIFA outlined the plans during a virtual media briefing from the International Broadcast Centre in Dallas. The governing body said the changes are designed to give referees faster information and provide all 48 participating teams with access to the same level of analytical support, regardless of budget or staff size.
One of the biggest changes involves offside decisions. The new system will send clear positional offside alerts directly to match officials on the pitch, rather than routing the information only to the video assistant referee as in the World Cup in Qatar in 2022. FIFA said the update should shorten the time needed to make calls and reduce the chance that players are exposed to injury during the delay between an offside incident and the assistant referee raising the flag.
The technology is being limited to positional offside and will not judge whether an offside player interfered with play. That judgment will remain with match officials and the VAR.
FIFA also said every player at the tournament will be 3D-scanned so their digital avatars can be used inside the offside system and in broadcast replays. The organization said that should make the visuals more accurate for officials and easier for viewers to understand.
Another major addition is Football AI Pro, a generative AI assistant that will be available to all 48 teams. FIFA said the tool is meant to make pre-match and post-match analysis more accessible. In the past, teams received lengthy reports, often 50 to 60 pages per match, that required analysts to break down the material. FIFA said the new system should help teams find relevant information more quickly and narrow the gap between well-resourced and smaller squads.
FIFA innovation director Johannes Holzmüller said the goal is to democratize access to advanced football technology by giving every team the same platform. He noted that not every national side can travel with a large analytics staff, making shared tools especially valuable.
The organization is also expanding use of referee body cameras. The cameras were trialed at the 2025 Club World Cup, where FIFA said the results surpassed expectations. Lenovo, FIFA’s technology partner, has since worked on reducing motion blur caused by sudden movement. The improved footage is expected to give broadcasters a clearer first-person perspective and provide more transparency during matches.
In addition, each of the 16 stadiums will be equipped with 16 optical tracking cameras. FIFA said those cameras will generate more than 150 million data points per match. The data will be used to recreate games in 3D, support VAR reviews and help determine situations such as whether the ball crossed the line in the buildup to a goal.
FIFA said the same tracking feed may also be used by media partners for 3D highlights and full-match coverage, while feeding into the AI analysis platform for teams. The combined system marks one of the most extensive technology rollouts in World Cup history, with applications for officiating, coaching, broadcasting and fan engagement.