World Cup 2026: FIFA Adds New Automated Offside Technology to End Delayed Flags

FIFA

World Cup 2026: FIFA Adds New Automated Offside Technology to End Delayed Flags

The delayed offside flag may soon become obsolete as Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) has introduced groundbreaking new technology for the 2026 World Cup, implementing advanced semi-automated offside technology for video assistant referees (VAR) that enhances decision-making speed and allows assistant referees to raise the flag immediately instead of waiting for a play to develop.

FIFA will implement an improved version of the VAR system with semi-automatic offside technology, aiming to shorten decision-making time and reduce delays in assistant referees raising the offside flag. The breakthrough of this improvement is that the signal is transmitted directly to the assistant referee on the field instead of only being sent to the VAR room as before. When the AI system definitively identifies an offside play, the linesman will receive an audible “offside, offside” signal directly in their headset, with the entire process of analyzing, checking data, and confirming accuracy taking place within milliseconds.

An immediate audio notification will be dispatched to the assistant if a player is over 10cm offside. Earlier iterations of the technology tested at the Club World Cup and the Intercontinental Cup only alerted officials if a player was greater than 50cm offside. Johannes Holzmuller, FIFA’s Director of Innovation, said this technology has been tested over the past three years at FIFA youth tournaments, initially with a threshold of 50cm, before being narrowed down to 10cm once the system proved reliable. The official will remain in charge of when to raise the flag and stop play. They may keep the flag down if they suspect there has been a malfunction, but FIFA says a series of fail-safe measures are built into the technology to prevent errors. FIFA asserts that this mechanism is designed to virtually eliminate the possibility of the system sending false warnings in situations where there is no offside, only activating when sufficient data is available to verify the information.

Despite its sophistication, the technology has clear limitations. It will still be unable to pick out the closest offsides, and there are restrictions when players are on the ground or when several are too closely positioned. The system also only applies to offside situations based on position, not handling subjective assessments such as whether a player interfered in the situation. In close and complex offside situations with a difference of less than 10cm, or sensitive plays requiring subjective decisions, the VAR room will continue to be responsible for handling those calls.

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FIFA aims to alleviate some of the irritation experienced by fans and players while also minimizing injury risks caused by unnecessary gameplay when an offside call is imminent. The motivation for this technological upgrade was tragically underscored in May 2025, when Nottingham Forest forward Taiwo Awoniyi was put into an induced coma following a collision with a goalpost caused by the assistant’s delayed offside flag. This incident is widely considered one of the primary reasons that pushed FIFA to accelerate this project.

FIFA also announced that realistic, AI-driven 3D avatars of all players will be generated to enhance decision-making accuracy. This will involve producing a digital scan of every one of the 1,248 athletes in the 26-member rosters of the 48 teams. Every player will step into a chamber for scanning, a procedure that will take only 30 to 90 seconds and only needs to occur once during their pre-tournament photo session. Players stand with their arms slightly outstretched so the system can record their physical parameters with high accuracy. This system complements semi-automatic offside technology, using stadium cameras to track the ball and player positions 50 times per second. Sixteen cameras will be installed in every stadium—compared to 12 in Qatar—collecting around 150 million data points per game. Consequently, improved and more distinct offside animations will be implemented at the World Cup, helping television viewers understand the basis of the referee’s decision.

FIFA has also sanctioned the use of technology that can identify whether the ball exited the field prior to a goal being made. This change comes after the debate surrounding Japan’s winning goal against Spain in the 2022 World Cup, when unclear camera angles created confusion. A 3D animation will be developed, similar to goal-line technology, that can display the precise position of the ball. The chip embedded in the ball will show which player last made contact, allowing the VAR to verify whether a corner was the right call under new authorities. The Trionda ball, manufactured by Adidas, incorporates a 500Hz IMU motion sensor chip, allowing it to record data up to 500 times per second. Unlike the 2022 Al Rihla ball where the chip was located in the centre, the Trionda’s sensor is placed on the side. Many experts believe this change aims to help the ball maintain better balance and minimize the impact on its flight path. This technology helps referees accurately determine the point of contact—the moment a player makes contact with the ball—thereby assisting in making faster and more accurate offside decisions.

FIFA has additionally broadened Real-time 3D Recreation to enhance line-of-sight decisions for offsides, making them faster and more transparent. Two virtual feeds are accessible to the VAR and television audience, reflecting the views of each goalkeeper. This season, there were numerous ‘line-of-sight’ offside situations that raised doubts about whether the goalkeeper’s visibility was affected. This innovation aims to provide the VAR with an additional resource to make that choice accurately.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino has framed these innovations as part of a broader commitment to leveraging technology for the benefit of the sport. “We are committed to ensuring that technological innovation benefits every player, team, and fan around the world, and contributes to the development of football—the greatest sport on the planet,” Infantino said in Las Vegas in January. The FIFA World Cup 2026 kicks off on June 11, 2026, and runs through July 19, 2026, with matches hosted across 16 cities in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. The tournament will feature 48 teams playing 104 matches—the largest World Cup in history.