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Colombia and Portugal were deadlocked at zero in one of the most thrilling 2026 FIFA World Cup matches when a cross from Colombia whipped into Portugal’s box.
Davinson Sánchez of Colombia read the pass perfectly the whole way to the far post and used his head to smash the ball into the back of Portugal’s net. The goal was in stoppage time, Colombia and its fan base were in rapture, and the game appeared to be won.
That is until the head referee of the match changed everything.
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Sánchez was ruled offside, and soccer fans around the globe couldn’t believe it. It appeared that Sánchez was right next to his Portugal opponent when the ball was kicked by his teammate, and there was no way the goal was being called off.
But during the FOX broadcast, the ruling made more sense to the viewer, whether they were upset or not, because a 3D avatar of Sánchez was shown offside – by the literal front of his boot.
It’s moments like these, and many more, that are showing how Lenovo, the official technology partner of FIFA, is making an impact on the fan experience, both at home and in the 16 different stadiums across three countries, throughout this tournament with its AI-powered solutions.
LENOVO’S AI-POWERED 3D AVATARS, REFEREE VIEW AND MORE ARE SET TO TRANSFORM THE 2026 FIFA WORLD CUP
“This is a sponsorship that goes well beyond just a logo,” Cathy Meister, executive director North American PC & Smart Device Sales at Lenovo, told FOX Business during a roundtable discussion about the impacts on the World Cup thus far. “Being the official technology sponsor, we are truly the end-to-end backbone of all the operations. Our technology, everything from mobile phones all the way to our storage and infrastructure, our AI-powered services, truly end-to-end, Lenovo is showcased in powering these games.”
The AI-powered 3D digital avatars are a perfect example of how Lenovo is helping improve not just the fan experience, but the game itself. Before the tournament began, each team had their players 3D reconstructed to replicate them precisely on the pitch to support FIFA’s match officials in their offside decision-making.
We’ve seen it on multiple occasions throughout matches in the World Cup, giving players, coaches, and fans in the stands and at home the visuals of how a tool that helped a crucial call come to be on the pitch.
Then, in the locker rooms, meeting rooms and training pitches, every team has access to FIFA AI Pro, a groundbreaking AI-powered enterprise knowledge assistant that has been delivering data analytics and performance insights for countries participating throughout the tournament.
This specialized football interaction tool is “leveling the playing field,” as Meister put it, giving teams that may not have the most robust analytics teams within their squad access to millions of data points, metrics and rapid insights following each match. We’ve seen smaller clubs in terms of manpower, like Cape Verde, DR Congo and others, shock the football world against powerhouse clubs.
Could FIFA AI Pro have aided in that? Either way, that’s the vision for this World Cup and others moving forward.
From the Intelligent Command Center, the control room for the tournament, creating “digital twins” of each venue to allow predictive planning to optimize the event experience, “Smart Wayfinding,” which allows matchgoers to streamline their experiences at venues, and the referee cam, Lenovo knew it could take on these 104 FIFA World Cup matches and provide an improved experience from every aspect of this great game.
The partnership itself was one that Breanna Reader, Senior Communications Manager North America for Lenovo US, said came together with a dinner between top marketing officials within the technology powerhouse, where they dreamed big.
“Throwing ideas out, and it was one of those stories where it was like, ‘What could we do?’ FIFA came up, and that’s how the idea started,” Reader said. “FIFA has such a high standard of excellence and precision. It was lengthy conversations, and we had to prove the rigor of our technology and our expertise in that space. So, it’s best summed up as a true partnership. There were lots of conversations about how we could enhance the experience, what they needed from a technology partner. Just testing and talking about it as we went.
“FIFA, we all know the high degree of excellence and precision, and we needed to back it up. It shows we did.”
And Lenovo isn’t done yet.
There are still big matches to go, including the World Cup Final on July 19 at New York/New Jersey Stadium. But the company has already proven it can help bring players, coaches, fans and everyone surrounding the World Cup closer to the game than ever before through groundbreaking innovation.
Looking ahead, the Women’s World Cup in 2027 in Brazil will be yet another opportunity Lenovo will put its stamp on the game. And just as they have with their other sports partnerships, including F1, the Dallas Cowboys and Carolina Hurricanes, they will take learnings from this World Cup and apply it to their next challenge.
“We’ll carry on the technologies that we developed, and I’d imagine we’ll have learnings along the way and continue to innovate and continue to improve the fan experiences. The Women’s World Cup is contained to Brazil so – I don’t want to say easy – but after three countries and 16 different stadiums, I believe we’ll be ready,” Meister said.
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