Every player at the World Cup this summer will have his own physically accurate “AI avatar” that will be used in taking video assistant referee (VAR) decisions.
The innovation, which will involve every player being digitally scanned and leaves the possibility of size mattering in offside calls, was part of a package of technological measures announced by Fifa’s president, Gianni Infantino, as he made a keynote appearance at the Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas.
Infantino described the upcoming World Cup, with 104 matches across the US, Canada and Mexico, as “the greatest show ever on planet Earth” and said the AI avatars would “ensure” that more accurate offside decisions would be made.
“AI-enabled 3D avatars will ensure precise player identification and tracking,” Infantino said, describing it as “a big advancement in semi-automated offside technology, providing great images, faster decisions and a clear understanding by everyone”.
Download the Guardian app from the iOS App Store on iPhone or the Google Play store on Android by searching for 'The Guardian'.
If you already have the Guardian app, make sure you’re on the most recent version.
In the Guardian app, tap the Profile settings button at the top right, then select Notifications.
Turn on sport notifications.
Semi-automated offside technology (SAOT) is an extension of the protocols that automate key elements of the offside decision‑making process for the VAR. In the Premier League, SAOT involves 30 cameras identifying the position of the ball and tracking “up to 10,000” data points on a player’s location but the graphical models used to reach a decision do not match with a player’s actual size.
By adding personalised avatars, Fifa believes that the precision and speed of decision making will be improved, with the avatars allowing “the system to track players reliably during fast or obstructed movements”.
The use of player‑specific dimensions will personalise offside decisions as never before. Fans may be wondering whether the avatars will make the 6ft 5in Erling Haaland more likely to be caught offside than the 5ft 7in Lionel Messi.
According to Fifa, every player will be scanned before the World Cup to create a 3D model; it said each scan would take “approximately one second” and capture “highly accurate body-part dimensions”. These models would then be used by VAR in calculating offside via SAOT, and Fifa intends that the models be incorporated into TV coverage so that decisions could be “displayed more realistically and in a more engaging way to fans at stadiums and to viewers around the world”.
Also announced as part of an expanded relationship between Fifa and its official technology partner, the Chinese company Lenovo, was a new data platform – Football AI Pro – that is to be made available to all nations at the World Cup and will “help level the playing field” between better- and less-well-resourced nations “in an increasingly data-driven sport”. There is also to be a World Cup edition of the Motorola Razr phone, a Lenovo brand.
Infantino said: “The Fifa World Cup in 2026 is going to be the greatest show ever on planet Earth. Seven million people will attend the 104 matches – 104 Super Bowls – dozens of millions of fans will travel to North America to feel the Fifa World Cup vibe, six billion people will watch it from home, and the world will stand still.”
