World Cup players to have lifelike AI avatars for VAR offside decisions

FIFA will scan every player before the 2026 World Cup to create personalised 3D 'AI avatars' that are reported to be used in semi-automated offside technology for VAR; FIFA says each scan takes approximately one second.

FIFA announced that every player at the 2026 World Cup will be digitally scanned to produce personalised 3D "AI avatars" to support semi-automated offside technology (SAOT) used in VAR decisions. The announcement was made by FIFA president Gianni Infantino during a keynote at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. FIFA said each scan would take approximately one second and capture detailed body-part dimensions. The organisation also said the avatars would be incorporated into TV coverage and stadium displays. Key details: - Every player is to be scanned before the World Cup to create a physically accurate 3D model. - FIFA reported each scan will take "approximately one second" and record highly accurate body-part dimensions. - The personalised avatars are planned for use within semi-automated offside technology to assist VAR in calculating offside decisions. - FIFA said the models would be used in TV coverage and in-stadium displays to show decisions more realistically. - FIFA announced an expanded partnership with its technology partner Lenovo, including a new data platform called Football AI Pro to be made available to participating nations. Summary: FIFA says the avatar scans and SAOT deployment are planned ahead of and during the 104 matches of the 2026 World Cup across the US, Canada and Mexico. Further operational details and the practical effect of using personalised avatars in individual offside decisions will become clear once the system is implemented during the tournament.