'We were given a challenge which is unprecedented for the game': I spoke to Lenovos Ken Wong about the challenges of being "the technology backbone of FIFA" and how the FIFA World Cup 2026 can help democratize AI for everyone

Date:
Tue, 30 Jun 2026 17:25:00 +0000

Description:
The FIFA World Cup 2026 isnt just the biggest tournament in the world, it can play a vital role in democratizing AI, Lenovos Ken Wong tells us.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter The FIFA World Cup 2026 is well underway, with the group stages already generating huge amounts of action for fans across the world.

Its been widely highlighted how this is the biggest edition of the tournament so far, with an expanded roster of 48 teams doing battle in 16 venues across three countries. But with such a sprawling reach, the technology needed to power such a crucial tournament has never been more important - and thats where Lenovo comes in. As FIFAs official technology partner, Lenovo has provided the technical expertise to keep the tournament running , and power some of the most exciting new innovations such as AI Refcam - I went to find out more. Latest Videos From Watch full video here: An unprecedented
challenge We were given a challenge which is unprecedented for the game, Ken Wong - EVP and President, SSG, Lenovo, tells me in Miami.

For anyone that is going to be a single point of contact for such a complex project, there will be a lot of questionsbut after two weeks of operations, I think we have delivered what we promised. You may like I went inside FIFA's super-secret Technology Command Center for the World Cup but sadly I can't really tell you too much about what I saw I got scanned by FIFAs World Cup
VAR tech heres what its like to become a digital twin These 5 ChatGPT
prompts turned me into a smarter World Cup fan

Wong highlights how the technology being built and delivered to FIFA is actually Lenovos own in-house hybrid platform and delivery platforms, so the company was confident about the capabilities it could provide - and then,
Wong says, hand it over to FIFA, to make magic happen.

As Wong notes, keeping the lights on is a given, and Lenovo has deployed more than 350 engineers to World Cup sites, including the stadiums and its Technology Command Center in Miami, with the company providing around 17,000 devices to ensure a resolute and powerful backbone for all the tournaments operations. Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed! Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners
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The technology has (at least at the time of writing) been one of the biggest success stories of the World Cup 2026, with fans around the world praising
the immersiveness of the Refcam and realistic VAR avatars.

It's not only about technology - without outcome it is meaningless, Wong notes, with the company looking to provide a fan experience like never
before.

Our role is to make sure based on our understanding of the technology in the platform - how we can maximize the flexibility and outcome for our customer? Now it's up to FIFA to use it. What to read next How to watch FIFA World Cup 2026 free from anywhere in the world with this VPN deal ExpressVPN becomes an official supporter of the FIFA World Cup 2026 in biggest sports deal yet and gives away over 50 premium tickets Messis new ChatGPT partnership feels like marketing written by AI for people who dont watch soccer (Image credit: Oner SAN / AFP via Getty Images) The "power of AI" I ask Wong if the World Cup
2026 can be a good use case for responsible AI deployment, boosting
everything from the fan experience to broadcast quality to more effective ground logistics and operations.

Customers are often so focused on, do I have the most powerful model - but more and more, when AI is moving from POC to production and scale, the more people understand the importance of data, he says.

Any complex operation that involves a massive amount of data can be a vital learning experience, Wong says - naming building or facilities operations all the way up to smart city oversight as possible use cases which can be extrapolated from the World Cup use case.

Lenovo has even established sports as one of its focus verticals , with the company also partnering with the likes of Formula 1, the Olympics, NHL, Serie A and more.

We have confidence that we can provide a great outcome, for other organizations within the sports industry, be it a stadium or fans experience, or a whole federation, he adds.

So with the tournament still underway at the time of writing, Lenovo might be hoping, paradoxically, that its technology stays out of the headlines for the time being - as that will mean everything is working smoothly, with no errors or controversies.

We are the technology backbone of FIFA, Wong notes, our AI is powering the World Cup! To me, the real meaning is that we're part of the great game, but also it is proven now that Lenovo technology can be applied to the most complex operation in the world.



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