DALLAS—FIFA has opened the International Broadcast Center (IBC) for the FIFA World Cup 2026 at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas, with FIFA President Gianni Infantino hailing the facility as "the most technologically advanced and top of the art international broadcast center that the world has ever seen."
The facility will serve as the global broadcast operations center for 180 broadcasters covering the tournament set to take place across 16 host cities in Canada, Mexico and the USA from June 11 to July 19 2026.
It is the second time that Dallas has been designated this prestigious function, having also hosted the IBC during the 1994 FIFA World Cup USA.
"It's absolutely incredible to be here in Dallas at this fantastic International Broadcast Centre – it's getting better and better," said Infantino. "There's more and more technology, AI power, people, experts. It's incredible to see how much work, how much passion, how much expertise, how much high-level technological input there is to bring the FIFA World Cup to billions of fans all over the world.
Addressing some of the 2,000 broadcast media representatives who will be based at the facility, he also said stressed that "not everyone can travel to the United States or in the past to other countries to witness the FIFA World Cup, but everyone can see it back from home thanks to the IBC and thanks to the broadcasters," he said.
At the opening, Dallas Mayor Eric L. Johnson said that the city, which will host nine FIFA World Cup 2026 matches, had made targeted investments to support the operation and the thousands of international visitors.
"Having toured the operations here myself a few days ago, I can attest to the cutting-edge technology, including AI and innovation, that will be transforming this facility into a world-class media hub," Johnson said, according to a blog post posted by FIFA describing the opening.
The Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center was selected as the IBC for FIFA World Cup 2026 in part because of its central location across the three-nation tournament footprint, making Dallas the ideal hub for a broadcast operation spanning Canada, Mexico and the United States.
The facility spans 45,000 square meters (485,000 square feet) and will serve as headquarters for FIFA's host broadcaster and Host Broadcast Services (HBS), all FIFA Media Partners, FIFA's Video Content Production Department, FIFA's Football Technology and Innovation Department as well as housing the video assistant referee (VAR) room, the post noted.
"Four years ago, when we opened up the IBC in Qatar, our President was challenging us….and saying: 'We need to continue to push the bar as high as we can in order to remain a reference for everybody in the world in how we can deliver high-quality, our competences to all our broadcasters, to our partners,’” said Romy Gai, FIFA's chief business officer. “And I am happy to say today that what you can see all around us is the result of capitalizing on all our experience from the past, trying to improve and to do more in order to better serve our 180 broadcasters from all around the world."
HBS has delivered broadcast services for the six most recent editions of the FIFA World Cup, and broadcaster infrastructure is fully integrated into FIFA's stadium projects, covering camera positions, interview positions, the mixed zone, studios, media tribune, broadcast compound and press conference rooms.
In a blog post, FIFA said that a key pillar of the IBC's operation is the partnership between FIFA and Lenovo, FIFA's Official Technology Partner, which is providing complete IT solutions across the FIFA World Cup 2026 ecosystem.
Lenovo is deploying servers at the IBC in Dallas to deliver the computing power, devices and AI-driven solutions needed to bring every moment of every match to global audiences. More than 17,000 Lenovo and Motorola devices are deployed across venues and Team Base Camp training sites, supported by over 200 Lenovo engineers across all venues.
Lenovo ThinkSystem SR635 V3 servers manage massive volumes of live video data from stadiums across North America, powering FIFA's IPTV live feed via ten channels to over 1,000 screens at all FIFA venues. Lenovo's technology has also reduced latency within FIFA's IPTV infrastructure to under five seconds, enabling near real-time access to live match action.
GAI also highlighted two specific AI-powered innovations that will enhance the broadcast experience at FIFA World Cup 2026.
The first is AI-enabled 3D player avatars, which represent a major development in semi-automated offside technology. Players will be digitally scanned on arrival – a process that takes approximately one second per player – to create precise 3D models that capture highly accurate body-part dimensions. These models will be incorporated into the host broadcast, enabling offside decisions determined by the VAR system to be displayed more realistically and in a more engaging way for fans both in stadiums and watching at home around the world, the blog post explained.
The second innovation is a stabilized referee view. Building on a successful trial at the FIFA Club World Cup™ in 2025, AI-powered stabilisation software will smooth footage captured from the referee's camera in real time, reducing motion blur caused by rapid movement. The footage will deliver a higher-quality, first-person perspective for audiences, enhancing transparency, understanding and engagement throughout matches, he reported.
"Thanks to AI, we've introduced some innovations that will be highlighted through the broadcaster for the fans," Gai said. "These are just a couple of examples. We will have more to say, more to tell."
