MC Hotel owner and CEO of Circle Squared Alternative Investments Jeff Sica details how his New Jersey hotel became a prime location for FIFA World Cup teams with the ‘Claman Countdown.’
Colombia and Portugal were 0-0 in one of the most exciting matches of the 2026 FIFA World Cup when a cross from Colombia was deflected into the Portugal box.
Colombia’s Davinson Sánchez read the pass well all the way to the far post and used his head to flick the ball into the back of Portugal’s net. The goal was in the time of the game, Colombia and its fans were in the mouth, the game seemed to be won.
Until the main referee of the match changed everything.
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Lenovo during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group D match between USA and Paraguay at Los Angeles Stadium on June 12, 2026, in Los Angeles, California. (Joe Scarnici – FIFA / Getty Images)
Sánchez was falsely accused, and football fans around the world couldn’t believe it. It appeared that Sánchez was close to his Portuguese opponent when the ball was kicked by his teammate, and there was no way the goal had been stopped.
But during the FOX broadcast, this decision made more sense to the viewer, whether he was offended or not, because the 3D avatar of Sánchez was shown offside – the actual front of his boot.
Moments like this, and many more, show how Lenovo, FIFA’s official technology partner, is making an impact on fans, at home and in 16 different stadiums in three countries, throughout the tournament with its AI-driven solutions.
LENOVO’s AI-powered 3D Avatars, REFEREE LOOKS AND MORE SET TO REVOLVE 2026 FIFA WORLD CUP
“This is more than just a token sponsorship,” Cathy Meister, executive director of North American PC & Smart Device Sales at Lenovo, told FOX Business during a panel discussion on the impact of the World Cup so far. “As an official technology sponsor, we are truly the backbone of the end-to-end operations. Our technology, everything from the mobile phone to our storage and infrastructure, our AI-powered services, truly end-to-end, Lenovo is shown by powering these games.”
The AI-powered 3D digital avatars are a great example of how Lenovo is helping to improve not just the fan experience, but the game itself. Before the tournament started, each team had their players recreated in 3D to replicate them directly on the field to support the FIFA match officials in their decision-making in their absence.
The 3D avatar of Davinson Sánchez from Colombia shows that he was listening thanks to Lenovo AI technology. (Lenovo/FIFA/Fox News)
We’ve seen it many times throughout the World Cup, giving players, coaches, and fans in the stadiums and at home visuals of how the tool helped make the most important call on the field.
Then in the locker rooms, meeting rooms and training grounds, each team has access to FIFA AI Pro, an AI-powered business intelligence assistant that has been delivering data analysis and performance insights for participating countries throughout the tournament.
This specialized football tool “levels the field,” as Meister puts it, giving teams that may not have the strongest statistical teams on their team access to millions of data points, metrics and instant insights following each game. We have seen small clubs in terms of personnel, such as Cape Verde, DR Congo and others, terrorize the football world compared to the powerful clubs.
Could FIFA AI Pro help with that? In any case, that is the vision of this World Cup and others to come.
Lenovo CEO Yang Yuanqing and FIFA President Gianni Infantino spoke at the event. (Lenovo/FIFA/Fox News)
From the Intelligent Command Center, the control room of the tournament, which creates “digital twins” of each area to allow predictive planning to improve the experience of the event, “Smart Wayfinding,” which allows the players of the game to plan what is happening in the areas, and the referee’s camera, Lenovo knew that it could take these 104 FIFA World Cup games and provide an improved aspect of the game.
The partnership itself Breanna Reader, who is the North American Communications Manager at Lenovo US, said that they met at a dinner among the top marketing executives inside the powerhouse powerhouse, where they dreamed.
“Tossing around ideas, and it was one of those stories where it was like, ‘What can we do?’ “FIFA came along, that’s how the idea started,” said Reader. “FIFA has such a high level of excellence and precision. It was a long discussion, and we had to prove the strength of our technology and our expertise in that space. So, it’s best summed up as a real partnership. There were a lot of discussions about how we could improve the experience, what they needed from a technology partner. Just testing and talking about it as we go.
“FIFA, we all know a high level of accuracy and precision, and we needed to support that. It shows that we did.”
And Lenovo isn’t done yet.
Image of Lenovo’s Technology Operations Center for FIFA in Miami. (Lenovo/FIFA/Fox News)
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There are still big matches including the final of the World Cup which will be held on July 19 at the New York/New Jersey Stadium. But the company has already proven that it can help bring players, coaches, fans and everyone around the World Cup closer to the game than ever before through innovation.
Looking ahead, the 2027 Women’s World Cup in Brazil will be another opportunity for Lenovo to put its stamp on the game. And as they have done with other sports partnerships, including F1, the Dallas Cowboys and the Carolina Hurricanes, they will take the lessons learned from this world cup and apply them to their next challenge.
“We will continue with the technology we have developed, and I think we will continue to learn and continue to innovate and continue to improve the experience of the fans. The Women’s World Cup is contained in Brazil so – I don’t want to say that it is easy – but after three countries and 16 different stadiums, I believe that we will be ready,” said Meister.
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