World Cup players to have lifelike ‘AI avatars’ for use in VAR offside decisions

January 7, 2026

This summer's World Cup will feature lifelike AI avatars for every player, designed to enhance the accuracy of VAR offside decisions. FIFA President Gianni Infantino announced that these avatars will be created through digital scans of each player, potentially impacting future offside rulings based on their physical dimensions.

World Cup players to have lifelike ‘AI avatars’ for use in VAR offside decisions

Credit: Theguardian

Key Highlights

Every player at the World Cup will have a lifelike AI avatar.
The avatars will be used for VAR offside decisions.
Players will be digitally scanned to create these avatars.
FIFA aims to improve decision accuracy with this technology.
The announcement was made at the Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas.

football Sport US sports World Cup 2026 World Cup Fifa Video assistant referees (VARs)

Sources

World Cup players to have lifelike ‘AI avatars’ for use in VAR offside decisions

This quick summary is automatically generated using AI based on reports from multiple news sources. The content has not been reviewed or verified by humans. For complete details, accuracy, and context, please refer to the original published articles.

World Cup players to have lifelike ‘AI avatars’ for use in VAR offside decisions

Key Highlights

Sources

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