Artificial intelligence has become a crucial part of the world's biggest football tournament. From match operations and team preparations to broadcast enhancements and fan engagement, AI is being woven into the very fabric of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, transforming it into a global showcase for intelligent technology.

"AI and sports are a perfect match," Jiang Xiaojuan, professor at the University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and director of the national expert advisory committee for data, said. "Technology is fundamentally changing how athletes compete and how fans experience the game. The value it brings is unmistakable."

"I hope that companies with strong technological capabilities, like Lenovo, can apply the expertise gained from serving top-tier global events like the World Cup to the development of Chinese football and sports as a whole," Jiang said.

She made the comments at the "2026 FIFA World Cup Lenovo Carnival", which was held in Beijing on Thursday night, bringing together sports officials, tech executives, and football legends to witness firsthand how AI and the game are converging to create an entirely new kind of spectator and participant experience.

At the event, Lenovo launched a "Human vs Machine World Cup Prediction Challenge" and set up multiple immersive exhibition zones — including a "digital human visualization station", an "offside timing master" area replicating match-official technology, a "football AI lobster house" (a playful fusion of AI analytics), and a "football fan personality test". Together, these installations demonstrated Lenovo's innovations in event experience, intelligent interaction, and smart sports solutions.

Global football icon David Beckham, Lenovo's global brand ambassador, appeared at the event. "Looking ahead, I'm incredibly excited," he said. "Technology is becoming part of our lives in so many ways, and the world is changing so fast. This isn't just about change — it's about creating incredible opportunities for the next generation."

"Today we are talking about football, but it's about so much more than football," Gina Qiao, senior vice president of Lenovo, said. "What truly moves people is never just the 90 minutes of the match itself — it is the passion, the teamwork, the courage to never give up, and the unwavering pursuit of a dream. Lenovo hopes to use AI to connect more people through their passions, to bring the innovations born at the World Cup to a wider audience, and to help people keep growing on the path they love, discovering new possibilities on the pitch of life."

In October 2024, Lenovo became an official FIFA technology partner. Just 18 months later, that partnership has already evolved from signed documents into a full-scale technology infrastructure spanning 16 cities across three host nations. After a successful real?world test at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, this year's World Cup serves as a major proving ground for Lenovo's hybrid AI capabilities.

From a global perspective, Lenovo's role as a full-stack provider of AI?enabled devices, solutions, and services in building the technical backbone of the 2026 FIFA World Cup marks a qualitative shift in how Chinese technology companies participate in premier global events — moving from traditional sponsorship toward co?innovation and capability export, experts said.