Chinese tech giant Lenovo, which introduced the Ref Cam technology at the 2026 Fifa World Cup in North America, is preparing to enhance its AI offerings for future football events, including the women's World Cup in Brazil next year.

In addition to creating digital twins for all 1,248 players to improve semi-automated offside technology at the 2026 finals—dubbed "the first AI World Cup"—Lenovo also developed an analytical tool aimed at "democratising football."

Ken Wong, Lenovo's executive vice-president and president of its solutions and services group, told the South China Morning Post in Atlanta that the company is "exploring with Fifa what else we can bring" for upcoming tournaments and is looking to integrate these technologies "into the football mainstream."

Currently exclusive to Fifa events, Lenovo intends to replicate these AI innovations so they become accessible to a broader football audience. Prior to the World Cup, Lenovo worked to reduce the 40-second wait time for broadcast-quality Ref Cam images to enhance live coverage.

"There's a juicy story behind it," Wong remarked in the exclusive interview.

Sources