Figure 1 This World Cup will be the most technologically advanced ever – Source: Pixabay
We already know that this summer’s FIFA World Cup will be the biggest of all time. The expanded format will see an unprecedented 48 nations competing to win the most prestigious prize in international football. FIFA President Gianni Infantino has claimed that we will see 104 Super Bowls, alluding to the number of games and the spectacle of the NFL’s flagship championship game.
We will wait to see whether Infantino’s promise comes true, but there is no doubt that the tournament will be the biggest sports event on the planet this year, with around 1.5 billion people expected to watch the final alone on July 19th. Media coverage will be wall-to-wall, and all the best California betting apps will be busy throughout the six weeks of competition. But that won’t be the limit of the technology associated with the World Cup.
MyTopSportsbooks will have all the betting information needed to follow the 2026 World Cup, a tournament that is expected to be the most technologically advanced of all time. It only makes sense that every tournament is more advanced than the one before, but FIFA has taken a huge leap into the future for the 2026 edition.
Digital Avatars
One of the most high-profile new stories concerning the 2026 World Cup is FIFA’s deal with Lenovo to produce digital avatars of every player at the tournament. Each of the 1,248 players from the 48 teams will be digitally scanned in a process that will take just seconds, but help the running of the tournament in a number of ways.
Alongside all the marketing and publicity uses for these digital avatars, the officials will also benefit when making decisions on the field of play. Video-assisted referees (VAR) are already used in many of the top leagues and competitions, but have been consistently criticized. These digital avatars are designed to help make more accurate decisions.
Equal Access
Although technological advances have helped many sports in recent years, there is a basic issue that makes the entire sector problematic, and that is one of access. As beneficial and forward-thinking as any new piece of tech is, access is usually dictated by the extent of a team’s financial and technical resources.
The projects that FIFA have been working on with partners for this summer’s World Cup have been carried out with universal access in mind. All 48 nations will receive the same information and technology to help them analyze and increase performance. Hopefully, this will be an idea that continues across the sport in the years ahead.
Referee View
Another technological advancement that fans will become very familiar with is the Referee View, which has been updated and improved for the World Cup finals. Many of the top leagues around the world already have ref cams that help broadcasters show exactly what the main official is seeing at any moment.
This insight into the game has been trialed at other big events and, although it has had a mixed reception, it is designed to show fans a side of the game that they have previously not been able to witness. With higher quality footage, this World Cup promises to show what is happening on the field of play like never before.
Enhanced Broadcasting
Traditional football fans still love to watch grainy, black-and-white footage from old World Cups. There is just something about those old recordings of legends of the past playing in the early tournaments. But, as watchable as they are, the pictures are not clear, and World Cup 2026 will provide the highest definition broadcasts ever.
There will be 8K cameras providing ultra-high definition pictures to screens across the world for every single game. Immersive audio will bring the game to life like never before, while multi-angle replays should be able to stop barroom debates about the legitimacy of controversial goals and decisions.
Immersive Fan Experience
Sometimes, when we talk about technological advances in sports, we forget about how they are affecting the people who are actually at the game. Improved broadcasting techniques might be good for the billions watching at home, but they do not make the viewing spectacle any better for the fans who have paid a lot of money to cheer on their teams.
This World Cup will be more immersive than ever before for the fans, with deeper insight into the game. As well as some of the features we have already mentioned, benefitting those in the stadium, there will also be fan zones with giant LED screens and high-quality audio soundscapes. AI will also be used to make sure that the stadium experience is as enjoyable and stress-free as possible.
Figure 2 Fans watching on TV will benefit from a range of new features – Source: Pexels
Sustainability at its Core
There is a huge debate in the technology world at the current time surrounding the issue of sustainability. Many of the new developments, especially when they are connected with artificial intelligence (AI), go against any desire to create a sustainable future. It is vitally important that the FIFA World Cup uses technology in a responsible way.
This summer’s tournament will introduce all of the technological advances profiled here, while ensuring that energy consumption is kept as low as possible. In that way, we all get to benefit during the competition, and for years after, too.
AI-Powered Future
It is not a surprise that many of the technological advances designed to improve the 2026 World Cup are connected to AI. AI is never far from the headlines, across just about every industry and business sector, and football can benefit as much as any other.
AI development, carried out responsibly, is set to play a major role in this tournament and in the future. The aim is that tournaments will be better than ever before for the fans, the players, and everyone involved.