The World Cup's AI assist
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FIFA's Technology Operations Center. Image: Lenovo
AI helped power this year's World Cup by smoothing out the referee's-eye-view camera angle and giving all 48 teams equal access to detailed game analytics.
Why it matters: Like recent Olympics in Milan and Paris, the World Cup offered a high-profile test of whether AI can improve sports without getting in the way.
- The World Cup also gave Lenovo a global showcase for the enterprise AI systems it hopes to sell to other businesses.
Driving the news: Lenovo, which is both a high-profile sponsor and an official technology partner for the World Cup, helped manage several new AI-powered technologies during the tournament.
- Referee View lets TV viewers see key moments from a small camera mounted on the referee. AI can help smooth bodycam footage — which is naturally jerky — especially when the referee is running, turning and dealing with changing light conditions.
- Lenovo says its AI stabilization technology analyzes the camera feed frame by frame, reducing jitter by upwards of 50% and smoothing the video by up to 70% while keeping it in full HD with about three seconds of latency.
- It's a real-world case of showing off both bodycam stabilization and AI work on-device, David Rabin, CMO of Lenovo's Solutions and Services Group, told Axios.
Between the lines: Lenovo is also helping FIFA ensure that AI-based analytics are made available to all the teams, rather than leaving the deepest insights to the countries with the biggest technical and financial resources.
- FIFA AI Pro is a generative AI knowledge assistant built for FIFA that gives coaches, players and analysts access to FIFA data, video, graphics and match metrics.
- Teams can use the system to ask questions about how opponents have fared against a particular defensive style, what formations might work best or which video clips illustrate a tactical pattern, Rabin said.
- "AI has basically turned into a collaborative assistant," Rabin said.
Yes, but: FIFA says Football AI Pro can be used before and after matches for analysis, but not during live play.
- When to allow AI use during gameplay has emerged as a significant issue in elite sports.
- Last week, Major League Baseball ruled that teams could no longer use chatbots on league-issued iPads during games after some teams were using AI for game-related coaching decisions.
Zoom in: Lenovo has also built an intelligent command center for FIFA's operations.
- Rabin described it as "air traffic control for the World Cup," aggregating data across systems such as ticketing, food and beverage, staffing, security and parking.
- The idea is to spot problems as they emerge — for example, a long line at one gate or concession stand — and redirect people or resources before the issue gets worse.
Zoom out: For Lenovo, the World Cup isn't just about putting its logo on the biggest sporting event on the planet.
- Rabin said Lenovo prefers to describe the deal as a "technology integration partnership," rather than a sponsorship.
- "Sponsorship basically means I'm paying a ton of money to put my logo" on something, Rabin said. "A tech integration partnership is I may be engaging in a sponsorship, but I'm doing it because I'm able to tell a story."
- The company is using FIFA as a case study for other industries, from factories that need real-time video analysis to venues that need to manage crowd flow, food lines, parking and security.
What we're watching: Lenovo and FIFA expect to do more on the fan-experience side as AI tools mature.
- Rabin said that will likely mean more personalization, including content, statistics, camera angles and highlights tailored to how different fans want to watch.
- He said sports organizations increasingly talk about fan experience in terms of loyalty and revenue: "How do you keep fans engaged and loyal, and how do you open up new revenue streams?"
