{"slug": "after-ref-cam-lights-up-world-cup-whats-next-for-lenovos-ai-tech-in-football", "title": "After Ref Cam lights up World Cup, what’s next for Lenovo’s AI tech in football?", "summary": "Lenovo, the Chinese multinational, created Ref Cam, a major television hit at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and is now exploring with FIFA to bring its AI technology to future tournaments, including the 2025 Women's World Cup in Brazil. The company built digital twins for all 1,248 players to enhance semi-automated offside technology and reduced Ref Cam's broadcast-quality image wait time from 40 seconds to under 10 seconds. Ken Wong, executive vice president of Lenovo, said the company aims to replicate these technologies for the football mainstream.", "body_md": "# After Ref Cam lights up World Cup, what’s next for Lenovo’s AI tech in football?\n\nChinese multinational raised the bar for television coverage, now bosses eye bringing their expertise to the game’s mainstream\n\nHaving created one of the runaway television hits of this summer’s Fifa World Cup, Lenovo is plotting to up the AI ante for the women’s version next year in Brazil.\n\nIn addition to building digital twins for all 1,248 players to enhance semi-automated offside technology for the 2026 finals, labelled “the first AI World Cup”, and rolling out an analytical tool aimed at “democratising football”, the tech giants were responsible for Ref Cam, which made its major tournament debut in North America.\n\nKen Wong, executive vice-president of Lenovo, said the company was “exploring with Fifa what else we can bring” for future tournaments, as well as looking at how they can bring the technology “into the football mainstream”.\n\n“These technologies are only available for Fifa right now, but we want to replicate them so they’re available for everyone,” added Wong, who also serves as president of Lenovo’s solutions and services group.\n\nIn the six-to-nine months before the World Cup, Lenovo was tasked with considerably reducing a 40-second wait time for broadcast-quality Ref Cam images.\n\n“There’s a juicy story behind it,” said Wong, talking exclusively to the South China Morning Post in Atlanta.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/after-ref-cam-lights-up-world-cup-whats-next-for-lenovos-ai-tech-in-football", "canonical_source": "https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3362876/after-ref-cam-lights-world-cup-whats-next-lenovos-ai-tech-football?utm_source=rss_feed", "published_at": "2026-08-04 09:30:07+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-08-04 09:35:38.802965+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["artificial-intelligence", "computer-vision", "ai-products"], "entities": ["Lenovo", "FIFA", "Ken Wong", "Ref Cam", "World Cup", "South China Morning Post"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/after-ref-cam-lights-up-world-cup-whats-next-for-lenovos-ai-tech-in-football", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/after-ref-cam-lights-up-world-cup-whats-next-for-lenovos-ai-tech-in-football.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/after-ref-cam-lights-up-world-cup-whats-next-for-lenovos-ai-tech-in-football.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/after-ref-cam-lights-up-world-cup-whats-next-for-lenovos-ai-tech-in-football.jsonld"}}