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How coaches at the World Cup and Major League Baseball are using AI

This year’s FIFA World Cup may be remembered for Spain’s dominant performance on the pitch, or perhaps as Argentine star Lionel Messi’s last hurrah. It could also be remembered as the first soccer tournament that embraced artificial intelligence.

AI-powered technology from Lenovo helped smooth referee bodycam footage for TV viewers. The company also built a generative “AI knowledge assistant,” giving coaches, players and analysts access to FIFA data, video, graphics and match metrics.

FIFA forbade teams from using it during live play, however, following a similar decision by Major League Baseball last week that said teams could no longer use chatbots on league-issued iPads during games.

Is this a new era for AI in sports? Here & Now‘s Scott Tong asks Ina Fried, chief technology correspondent for Axios.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Copyright 2026 WBUR

Here & Now Newsroom
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