Dallas, USA—The FIFA World Cup 2026 International Broadcast Centre (IBC) in Dallas has been praised by FIFA President Gianni Infantino as “absolutely incredible” following its official opening at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Centre. The 45,000-square-meter hub, which the FIFA president referred to as “the most technologically advanced and top-of-the-art international broadcast center that the world has ever seen,” will function as the global broadcast operations center for the competition, which is scheduled to take place from June 11 to July 19, 2026, in 16 host cities across Canada, Mexico, and the USA.
Dallas had hosted the IBC at the 1994 FIFA World Cup USATM; hence, this is the second time the city has been chosen for this esteemed event. The FIFA president was impressed by the size of the gathering in the center of the Texas metropolis. Mr. Infantino remarked, “It’s truly amazing to be here in Dallas at this wonderful International Broadcast Center. It’s getting better and better.” More and more individuals, specialists, AI power, and technology are available. The amount of effort, love, skill, and advanced technology input required to bring the FIFA World Cup to billions of fans worldwide is astounding.
“You don’t realize that thousands of people are working for the FIFA World Cup when you watch it on TV at home. This is especially true in this International Broadcast Center, which acts as the global hub for the competition,” FIFA president noted.
Speaking to some of the 2,000 broadcast media representatives who will be stationed at the venue for a maximum of seven months, the FIFA president discussed the significance of the event for supporters who are unable to attend one of the 16 host cities in person. Even while not everyone can travel to the United States or, in the past, other countries, he noted, everyone can watch the FIFA World Cup from home due to IBC and the broadcasters.
The broadcasters are essential, and it is a privilege for me as FIFA President to lead an organization that provides free access to the FIFA World Cup for fans all over the world. The broadcasters, together with the players who give entertainment, are what make the FIFA World Cup what it is; without them, nobody could watch it, the president added.
Eric L. Johnson, the mayor of Dallas, also commemorates the event and conveys the city’s satisfaction in being so important to the competition. “Today, for the biggest international sporting event in history, (the IBC) formally becomes the center of worldwide journalism and broadcasting. Every one of the billions of FIFA World Cup viewers worldwide will be watching coverage right from here in the center of Dallas in less than two weeks, and Dallas is ready to play this special role with world-class brilliance,” he noted.
The city, which will host nine FIFA World Cup 2026 matches, has made targeted investments to support the operation and the thousands of foreign tourists, according to the mayor, who had personally inspected the complex a few days prior to the official opening. The broadcaster infrastructure, which includes camera positions, interview positions, the mixed zone, studios, the media tribune, the broadcast compound, and press conference rooms, is fully integrated into FIFA’s stadium projects. HBS has successfully provided broadcast services for the six most recent FIFA World Cups.
The collaboration between FIFA and Lenovo, FIFA’s Official Technology Partner, which offers comprehensive IT solutions throughout the FIFA World Cup 2026 ecosystem, is a crucial component of the IBC’s operations. In order to supply the gadgets, processing power, and AI-powered solutions needed to transmit every second of every game to viewers worldwide, it is reported that Lenovo is setting up servers at the IBC in Dallas. More than 17,000 Lenovo and Motorola devices are placed in venues and Team Base Camp training locations with the help of more than 200 Lenovo specialists.
The vast amounts of live video data from North American stadiums are managed by Lenovo ThinkSystem SR635 V3 servers, which provide FIFA’s IPTV live feed through ten channels to more than 1,000 displays at all FIFA venues. Additionally, FIFA’s IPTV infrastructure now has latency of less than five seconds thanks to Lenovo’s technology, making it possible to watch live match action almost instantly. Two particular AI-powered solutions that will improve the FIFA World Cup 2026 broadcast experience were highlighted by the FIFA Chief Business Officer.
The first is an important step in semi-automated offside technology: AI-enabled 3D player avatars. Upon arrival, players will be digitally scanned, a procedure that takes about a second per participant, in order to produce exact 3D models that capture extremely accurate body-part dimensions. By integrating these models into the host broadcast, viewers in stadiums and at home across the world will be able to see offside rulings made by the VAR system in a more realistic and captivating manner.
A referee view that is stabilized is the second innovation. AI-powered stabilization software will smooth video recorded by the referee’s camera in real time, minimizing motion blur brought on by quick movement, building on a successful experiment during the FIFA Club World CupTM in 2025. The video will give viewers a better, first-person viewpoint, increasing openness, comprehension, and participation during games. Mr. Gai stated, “We’ve introduced some innovations thanks to AI that will be highlighted through the broadcaster for the fans.” These are only a few instances. We’ll have more to say and share.
The FIFA president also discussed the intense and growing excitement for the competition itself. “We can’t wait; I can’t wait for the first ball to be kicked, for the first goal to be scored, for the spectators to arrive at the stadiums, and for this enthusiasm and feeling to materialize. You can sense that everyone in every city is eager for the FIFA World Cup to begin. Everyone is incredibly eager and anticipating an incredible FIFA World Cup when the teams arrive and play their final tests and friendly matches.”
Credit: FIFA
Photo credit: FIFA Media
