00:06Now, Chinese brands are in the World Cup spotlight.
00:10Some of the country's most recognisable companies are involved in sponsorship and technology partnerships
00:15as they look to engage with global football fans.
00:19Well, our correspondent Siobhan McCall has all the details. Siobhan.
00:22Thanks, Jeff. Yes, Chinese tech giant Lenovo is one of FIFA's top-tier partners
00:28alongside the likes of Coca-Cola and Visa.
00:31It's the highest sponsorship level and the partners receive global marketing rights across all FIFA competitions.
00:39These deals are undisclosed, but partner fees are reported to be at least nine figures.
00:44The second highest level is being a sponsor.
00:47There are two Chinese companies at this tier, dairy giant Meng Nhu and electronics brand Hisense.
00:54This sponsorship focuses on the World Cup and you'll see branding on the advertising boards.
00:59Analyst estimates a sponsor at this level could pay around $100 million.
01:04And the Chinese brands also play a part in the tournament's technology.
01:09Hisense is the World Cup's official VAR or video assistant referee TV provider.
01:15The referees go to these screens to review decisions about penalties and red cards.
01:19So picture precision is a must.
01:22While Lenovo is FIFA's official technology partner for this World Cup and the Women's 2027 tournament in Brazil,
01:30it's a key role involving off-side avatars, reducing broadcasting delays and artificial intelligence analysis.
01:44Arthur, who is Chief Information Officer at Lenovo?
01:48For fans, we're actually helping bring them a more immersive experience.
01:55And so one of the great examples here is around the RefReview AI stabilizer and also the RefCam.
02:02Because it's actually, and by the way, this is for the more than 6 billion fans that we expect to
02:08tune in and actually view the game and engage that way.
02:12But this is a way that is providing the fans with a much more immersive and real-time experience for
02:20what the action is actually like on the pitch.
02:23And then for the players, we're very excited about the FIFA AI Pro.
02:28Every single team will now have access to elite-level analytics that's powered by AI that brings the analytics across
02:38hundreds of millions of data points
02:40because we're capturing so much data and we're able to use the agents to then analyze strategy, tactics, and help
02:48teams on preparation.
02:50And we want that to be true for all the teams to really help level the playing field and democratize
02:56access to elite-level coaching.
02:59One thing that's really caught my attention is the off-side avatars.
03:03Can you tell me a bit about them?
03:05The digital avatars, we are scanning all 1,248 players with a high-resolution physical scan.
03:12It is accurate down to the millimeter.
03:16So things like how long someone's leg is, the size of someone's boot, their proportions, those can now be captured
03:24digitally.
03:25And we're working with FIFA, and the solution that we bring helps secure and store that
03:30and also make us – we can render when referees are reviewing some of the off-sides to see exactly
03:37what that was like.
03:39So previously, it was a more generic player avatar that would show up, and now we have much more real
03:45-life dimensions.
03:47Similar to the earlier point about the ref cam, it's another way of helping keep fans in the game because
03:53it's a different view.
03:54They can know that there's much more accuracy in the scans.
03:57It's a much more lifelike image that they're viewing.
04:00And most importantly, it really supports the referees to help additional context for their crucial calls.
04:06What next for all this technology?
04:08Will we see it at all top-flight football games in the future?
04:12The best thing we can do to help democratize the access is to help show the world how powerful and
04:18how compelling
04:19that technology supporting the experience can make each aspect of the game,
04:23from the fans who are there in person to those who are taking it online to the players, the coaches,
04:30the analysts, to the broadcasters.
04:31Technology really can bring something for everyone and help up-level the experience.
04:36So the best thing we can do in the next 30 days through the final whistle of the Men's World
04:41Cup in 2026 is to make sure that we're pulling off a flawless tournament,
04:46that each of these aspects, people are saying, wow, right, didn't know we can do that.
04:51And from there, and we're already getting commercial interest from other leagues, from other venues, from other sporting associations,
04:57because the global appeal of sports is so broad that the ecosystem is so deep.
05:03And I am confident that once people see what's possible, we'll see the diffusion and the spread of the technology
05:09more broadly.
05:11How much does the visibility from the World Cup help with brand engagement?
05:16I think from the billboards and the signage, as well as things like the ref cam.
05:21I personally am getting multiple texts today from people, some of whom I haven't heard from for years,
05:27to say, wow, I didn't know Lenovo did that.
05:30Or they'll say, mommy, there's the company that makes your PC from a five-year-old.
05:35So I think it is really wonderful to be able to get that association.
05:40It's not just a media buy, that this is actually founded on deep technology partnership
05:44that reflects the shared ambition of both FIFA and Lenovo towards advancing and elevating the sport of football globally.
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