FIFA announced that many new technologies supported by artificial intelligence will be used to increase the accuracy of referee decisions and improve match analysis within the scope of the 2026 World Cup. The tournament, which will be co-hosted by the USA, Canada and Mexico, will be one of the organizations with one of the most comprehensive technological infrastructures in the history of football. In the tournament, which will be played with 48 teams and consist of a total of 104 matches, both on-field decision processes and broadcast experience will be supported by advanced digital systems.
Sensored and Rechargeable Smart Soccer Ball The official match ball to be used in the tournament draws attention with the high-frequency sensor system integrated into it. The ball called “Trionda” can track data such as speed, direction, moment of contact and rotation in real time, thanks to a sensor that can make 500 measurements per second. The integrated sensor module, weighing approximately 14 grams, was specially designed to maintain the center balance of the ball.
The ball, whose energy is stored before the match with the wireless charging system, has the capacity to collect active data for approximately 6 hours on a single charge. 3D Player Modeling Integration into the VAR System It was announced that the VAR system will have a more advanced structure in the tournament. FIFA creates three-dimensional digital models for each football player to be used in the analysis of critical positions such as offside and contact.
Within the scope of the system developed by Lenovo, players are digitally modeled in special scanning booths. In this way, the aim is to support the referee’s decisions by recreating the positions in the virtual environment. Referee Cameras and Artificial Intelligence Supported Analysis System It has also been confirmed that referees will use body cameras in the 2026 World Cup. With this application, it will be possible to watch the matches from the referee’s perspective.
In addition, the artificial intelligence system called “Football AI Pro” will analyze the data collected during the match and provide performance and tactical evaluations to the teams. The system will have the capacity to process instant data over thousands of statistics.
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