FIFA 2026: Bringing memorable moments of exciting sportsmanship in immersive, shared reality to fans worldwide

By Shirish Nadkarni

Come July 19, the final of FIFA World Cup 2026 will break every standing viewership record for any cultural, religious, or any other sports events.

It is also the most complex production challenge broadcasters have faced, for an event that draws a worldwide audience far beyond the 48 participating nations, and which promises to be the most high-tech tournament in history.

The World Cup 2026 is the first time artificial intelligence (AI) is making calls, building replays and shaping how a billion people around the globe experience the game.

Broadcasting from three host countries — the US, Canada and Mexico — the tournament is featuring game-changing advancements centred around AI, immersive camera setups, and global 5G data networks. These innovations span hyper-personalised viewing, 3D data visualisation, and massive production centralisation.

A major 2026 feature absent from previous World Cups is the AI-powered 3D player avatars and tracking. Broadcasters are utilising real-time AI-generated 3D player models to clarify complex on-field incidents, such as offside calls. These avatars overlay on the standard match feed, giving viewers a clear, transparent visualisation of player positioning based on semi-automated offside technology data.

Before the onset of the competition, FIFA scanned all 1,248 players who were set to take the field at the 48-team tournament. Each scan took a single second. Those scans then became 3D digital live models that show up on screen every time there is an offside call. No more arguments or confusion; every spectator sees a 3D replay of exactly what happened.

Then, there is the football itself. The Adidas Trionda ball has a sensor chip inside it that records data 500 times every single second. Every touch by every player is tracked in real time. Referees know exactly which player touched the ball last, and when.

There is also a tool called Football AI Pro, built by Lenovo. Every team gets full access to whole match analytic player data and game insights. The same data that big clubs spend millions gaining access to is now available to every team at the tournament.

And for fans at home, there is something called Referee View, a camera powered by AI that puts every TV viewer in the middle of the pitch alongside the players.

The tournament offers ultimate immersive viewing and shared reality. FIFA has forged partnerships with companies like Cosm to deliver select World Cup matches in 12K shared-reality environments. Fans are placed in an arena-like setting that mimics a live stadium, offering an immersive, panoramic alternative to traditional television viewing.

The Expanded Camera Angle Ecosystem is mind-blowing. The baseline production features 45 cameras per match, spanning traditional positions to unique digital-first perspectives, including RefCams with real-time AI stabilisation and smoothing. This delivers exclusive, unprecedented on-field and locker-room access to fans globally.

Operations are underpinned by massive data capacity provided by telecom partners like Verizon. Designing a secure, high-speed fibre-based 5G network from all host venues to the centralised International Broadcast Centre (IBC) in Dallas, Texas, allows for massive global content distribution with ultra-low latency.

AI-assisted multilingual content ensures that there are no language barriers or constraints. AI speech recognition, real-time translation, AI dubbing, and synthetic voice generation assist media partners in producing highly localised content, catch-up services, and secondary streams in multiple languages much faster than traditional production workflows.

Agreements were secured in over 220 territories worldwide, delivering record-breaking revenues and expanding global reach. A strong mix of traditional broadcast partners and new players strengthened coverage across all markets. Innovative digital and immersive agreements expanded access and engaged new and younger audiences.

“We have been able to establish the most expansive and innovative broadcast platform in the history of the FIFA World Cup,” was the exultant statement made by FIFA Secretary-General Mattias Grafström.

“The World Cup telecast will reach fans on an unprecedented scale, driven by record-breaking media rights revenues and a diverse ecosystem of partners spanning traditional broadcasters, digital platforms and emerging content formats.

“The 2026 World Cup has set a new benchmark not only in terms of scale, but also in how the tournament is experienced around the world. Our media partnerships bring together the very best in global broadcasting with innovative digital platforms and new formats, ensuring that fans everywhere can connect with the game in more ways than ever before.

“This is central to FIFA’s mission of making football truly global and bringing the FIFA World Cup closer to every fan.”

The World Cup 2026 is redefining production scale, with a centralised feed model enabling global distribution with local customisation, fibre networks and next-generation connectivity at the core of broadcast delivery. New camera systems and 5G networks expand how the game is experienced, and multi-platform content strategies reshape how audiences engage with sports.

“The tournament’s scale is unlike anything the industry has seen before,” said Oscar Sanchez, FIFA’s Head of Host Broadcast Production, while making a presentation at the NAB broadcast convention in Las Vegas in April this year.

“Compared to the World Cup 2022 in Qatar, which was geographically compact, the 2026 event stretches across three of the world’s largest countries, four time zones and 104 matches.

“This makes the FIFA World Cup 2026 one of the biggest challenges that a team has tackled historically when it comes to sports production. The logistical complexity of producing matches across thousands of miles introduces new demands on infrastructure, coordination and technology. Every component of the broadcast chain, from capture to distribution, must operate seamlessly at scale.”

Unlike events such as the Super Bowl, where a single broadcaster controls production end to end, FIFA has produced a master feed that is being distributed globally and then adapted by media partners.

“We need to have a standardised feed that everybody’s going to be able to take and customise as they want,” Sanchez said. “This system will allow broadcasters like Fox, Telemundo and others to tailor the experience to their audiences while relying on a consistent, high-quality feed.

Verizon, the official telecommunications partner of the FIFA World Cup 2026, built and operates the broadcast contribution network, which connects every venue to the centralised IBC in Dallas. From there, the feeds are distributed to broadcast partners around the world.

“Verizon has been responsible for the design, delivery and operation of a high-speed, secure reliable fibre-based network from all 16 competition venues back to the IBC,” said Brian Gorney, Senior Director of Sports & Entertainment at Verizon Business.

“We have been delivering something in the range of 7 terabits per second of data capacity. This infrastructure forms the backbone of the broadcast system, ensuring that every match can be transmitted in real time with minimal latency and maximum reliability.”

Gorney said that Verizon is deploying private 5G networks across all 16 venues, designed specifically to support high-performance applications within the tournament environment.

“Private 5G is effectively a dedicated enterprise purpose-built network that is built to cover the pitch and ensure the performance of that particular application,” he said.

Another way Verizon is enhancing the fan experience was by upgrading its 5G capacity by three to five times in the 11 US venues, which makes it easier for fans within the venues to upload content to social media, download player or match statistics, live stream and more.

Broadcasters are also adapting to how audiences consume content across multiple platforms and formats.

The World Cup 2026 is illustrating how broadcasting and technology have converged to create a new model for live sports production. From centralised feeds and massive fibre networks to private 5G and platform-native content, the event showcases how infrastructure and innovation have reshaped the industry.

For broadcasters, the goal is to not only deliver matches, but also create a consistent, immersive experience for audiences around the world. Each host broadcaster is embedded close to the action, bringing fans directly into the stadiums and the tournament’s festive atmosphere through unparalleled on-the-ground storytelling.

This comprehensive broadcast ecosystem is supported by cutting-edge production capabilities. The FIFA’s IBC in Dallas acts as the global hub for content distribution and media operations, facilitating the delivery of advanced live match coverage alongside approximately 8,000 hours of additional non-live content.

Digital-first production workflows, including mobile filming solutions, further support broadcasters in delivering engaging content across social and digital platforms.

Through this record-breaking and forward-looking broadcast strategy, FIFA has ensured that its World Cup 2026 will end up being known as the most widely distributed, accessible and engaging edition in the tournament’s history, reinforcing the power of football to unite audiences across the world by providing memorable moments of exciting sportsmanship live from the fields to countries all over the globe.