FIFA has announced a series of major technological upgrades for the 2026 World Cup, including a faster semi-automated offside system and AI-generated 3D player avatars designed to improve the accuracy and speed of VAR decisions.

Faster offside calls

The upgraded semi-automated offside technology will send a real-time audio alert to the assistant referee if a player is more than 10cm offside — a significant improvement over earlier versions tested at the FIFA Club World Cup and the Intercontinental Cup, which only triggered notifications for margins greater than 50cm.

Assistant referees will still decide when to raise the flag and halt play, retaining the authority to hold it down if they suspect a technical malfunction. FIFA says multiple failsafe measures are built into the system to minimise errors.

The technology is not without limits. It cannot identify the tightest offside margins, struggles when players are on the ground or bunched closely together, and applies only to positional offside — not to subjective calls requiring interpretation, such as whether a player has interfered with an opponent without making contact with the ball.

FIFA says the system is intended to reduce frustration for supporters and players alike, and to lower the risk of injury during unnecessary passages of play while an offside flag is withheld. The move follows a high-profile incident in May 2025, when Nottingham Forest striker Taiwo Awoniyi was placed in an induced coma after colliding with a post while an assistant delayed raising the offside flag.

AI-generated player avatars

FIFA also confirmed that lifelike, AI-enabled 3D avatars will be created for all 1,248 players across the 48 competing nations' 26-man squads. Each player will step into a scanning chamber during their pre-tournament photo shoot — a process that takes roughly one second and needs to happen only once. The scans will power enhanced offside animations displayed during VAR reviews.

New out-of-bounds and line-of-sight tools

Beyond offside, FIFA has approved technology capable of determining whether the ball crossed the touchline or byline before a goal was scored. A 3D animation — similar to existing goalline technology — will show the exact position of the ball at the critical moment. The chip embedded in the ball will also identify which player last touched it, giving VAR officials a new tool to verify corner-kick decisions.

Earlier this season, Aston Villa had a goal disallowed against Brentford in disputed circumstances after it was unclear whether the ball had gone out of play — the kind of scenario the new system is built to resolve.

FIFA has additionally expanded its Real-time 3D Recreation system to accelerate and clarify line-of-sight offside rulings. Two virtual camera feeds, replicating the perspectives of both goalkeepers, will be made available to VAR officials and television viewers. Multiple line-of-sight incidents this season raised questions about whether a goalkeeper's view had been obstructed — the new tool is designed to give referees a clearer basis for those judgements.