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Weeks after it renewed its multi-year sponsorship deal with F1, Lenovo has now signed on as the official technology partner for FIFA, which includes the 2026 World Cup as well as the 2027 Women’s World Cup in Brazil.
The company said that its “services and solutions” including its ThinkPad laptops, tablets, Motorola mobile phones, and servers, will be integrated into the 2026 and 2027 tournaments.
Jeff Shafer, Lenovo’s head of corporate marketing, has reportedly indicated that there have been meetings with FIFA to discuss the role and integration of artificial intelligence in helping teams and fans better process and leverage all the data produced during a match, although those discussions are still in the early stages.
“Technology and football will absolutely enhance the experience for viewers at a specific level. That’s stuff that we’re working on right now. But we already, I think, have some really amazing and interesting ideas brewing,” said Shafer, according to the Associated Press.
The announcement was made during Lenovo’s Tech World innovation event in Seattle on Tuesday.
The FIFA World Cup will feature 48 teams and will be held from June 11 through July 19 in 16 cities across the United States, Canada and Mexico which will be jointly co-hosting the tournament.
The 2027 Women’s World Cup will feature 32 teams, although the dates and host cities in Brazil have not been finalised.
Lenovo’s partnership with the FIFA World Cup will allow it visibility to potentially billions of people around the world. According to FIFA, 1.5 billion people watched the final game between Argentina and France at the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
As per FIFA’s statistics, around 5 billion people engaged with the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. On social media, according to Nielsen, there were 93.6 million posts across all platforms, with a 262 billion cumulative reach and 5.95 billion engagements.
“Lenovo will be powering the largest sporting and entertainment events in human history – events with more viewers, more nations participating, and an unprecedented global demand for data processing and technology,” said Lenovo chairman and CEO Yuanqing Yang. “We’re excited that our cutting-edge technology and AI innovation will take centre stage in the upcoming tournaments, demonstrating to the world the transformative power of smarter technology.”
FIFA president Gianni Infantino also reiterated the significance of implementing new technologies to the sport. “Data and technology combined help us to know fans better, and we will use it to create unparalleled and unforgettable fan experiences at the FIFA World Cup 2026 and FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027. In Lenovo, we have a partner who will support us as we evolve and innovate, investing in digital technology and artificial intelligence for future generations.”
