Explaining FIFA’s 2026 World Cup technology changes: Ball out of play firsts and offside advances
New technology introductions at the 2026 World Cup mean officials will be able to check whether the ball has gone out of play in the buildup to a goal.
The implementation of the technology should result in FIFA avoiding the controversy that surrounded Japan’s winning goal in their 2-1 victory over Spain in the 2022 tournament.
It is one of a number of technology changes introduced for this summer’s tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada, announced by FIFA and the governing body’s technology partner Lenovo at a media briefing on Tuesday.
Other facets of the game impacted by the introductions include:
- The awarding of corner kicks
- How early assistant referees can flag for offsides
- Offside calls where the goalkeeper’s line of sight is blocked
Ball in and out of play advances
Through improved 3D renders and connected ball technology, officials will now be able to review animations showing the exact position of the ball, in a similar way to how goal-line technology operates.
Controversy over officials judging whether the ball was in or out of play was a major talking point during the final round of group stage fixtures at the 2022 World Cup, with Japan’s goal against Spain ensuring they progressed to the knockout stages as group winners and eliminating Germany.
Japan winger Kaoru Mitoma managed to dig out a pass from the byline for Ao Tanaka to head home. The assistant referee flagged that the ball had gone out of play but referee Victor Miguel de Freitas Gomes overturned his assistant’s call after listening to the views of the VAR.
(Clive Mason/Getty Images)
Goal-line technology does not extend beyond the goal posts and no images were able to conclusively rule one way or another due to the camera angles available and the illusion that the overhang of the ball can create.
The in-ball sensor will also be able to identify exactly which player touched the ball last by tracking its movement 500 times per second.
This can also be used for the awarding of corner kicks, following VAR’s expanded powers at the 2026 World Cup, which enable them to intervene on incorrectly awarded corners, so long as there is no delay to the game.
Advanced semi-automated offside technology
Assistant referees will be able to flag for close offside calls more often due to a revamp of the semi-automated offside technology introduced at the previous World Cup.
It was designed to spot offsides almost in real time but it previously only alerted officials if a player was greater than 50cm offside.
It can now judge far more precise situations, signalling if a player is more than 10cm offside.
Officials will also receive the audio alert directly to their ear piece now rather than having to wait on VAR to communicate it to them.
It should result in quicker decisions and vastly reduce the number of incidents in which the attacking phase continues despite most players waiting on the flag to be raised after play has come to a halt.
There are still limitations as it cannot interpret whether a player was interfering with play and may not be able to decipher an offside decision if players are on the ground or there are bodies too close together occluding the camera.
FIFA is pleased with the outcome given concerns over the window for avoidable injuries to occur when assistant referees were instructed to delay raising their flags for offside.
3D avatars and ‘line of sight’ angles
Tracking cameras stationed around each stadium will help power the technology but they are also driving further developments.
There will be 16 cameras stationed around every venue this summer, compared to 12 in Qatar, collecting around 150 million data points per game.
They will also track every player’s skeleton in detail, with 3D scans of 1,249 players used to create their own AI avatar. These will be taken during the tournament media day. They take only one second to be completed but they will improve the quality of the semi-automated offside replays used to show decisions.
These 3D recreations will also be used by VAR for line of sight judgements.
Significant delays can arise when an offside has been established but it is unclear whether a player, for example, is blocking a goalkeeper’s ability to see the ball being struck.
A new line of sight feed will be available to VAR and viewers showing the perspective of the goalkeeper in these scenarios.
Ref cam stabilised
Ref cam has also been enhanced with the latest version to be known as ‘stabilised ref body camera’.
It has proved popular with fans as it has provided greater transparency into the communication of officials and the pace at which they need to make decisions.
However, it was found that much of the footage was unusable due to the jumping and moving that refereeing requires.
Lenovo has devised a way that reduces the shaking and means it should be a supportive tool for broadcasters, coaches and medical staff too when reviewing potential injuries.
‘Democratising’ AI
FIFA is also introducing Football AI Pro, which aims to “democratise” the access all teams have to data and analytics.
At previous tournaments FIFA would deliver every team with an in-depth report between 50 and 60 pages after the game.
The governing body is now offering a real-time experience in which analysts can type a request for what information they would like via AI, whether that be graphics, video or data.
FIFA announced the “generative AI knowledge assistant” for this summer’s tournament in January. The tool could be used, for example, to show a team’s last ten corner kicks.
Nations will have access to it before and after games but not during matches in a bid to level the playing field between opponents at the first 48-team World Cup – where tournament debutants including Curacao and Cape Verde will be competing with traditional heavyweights such as Brazil, Germany and France.