FIFA and Globant: Giving the Beautiful Game an AI Upgrade

Football isn’t, as many will tell you, "just a game" – it’s an emotional language spoken across continents, transcending borders while uniting billions in shared passion.

Now, like much of modern life, football is undergoing an AI transformation that will reshape not just how the sport is played, but how fans experience it from anywhere in the world.

The company at the centre of this digital evolution is Globant, the multinational technology company driving innovation across the sporting landscape. Over the past several years, the firm has pioneered technologies that bring fans closer to the action, whether they’re watching from stadiums or streaming from home.

Since 2022, Globant has served as FIFA’s digital partner, enhancing the organisation’s multilingual streaming service FIFA+. The company has now extended this partnership with an AI-focused initiative centred on a new mobile application launching ahead of the 2026 World Cup.

“We are thrilled to deepen our collaboration with FIFA and jointly embark on this new phase of innovation for football,” says Martin Migoya, Co-Founder and CEO of Globant. 

“Technology can amplify the power of sport – enabling deeper connections, richer experiences and more personalised journeys for fans around the world.”

The FIFA World Cup 2026, earmarked to be the biggest standalone sporting event in history, is set to be hosted for the first time across three countries, Canada, Mexico and the United States.

FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafström adds: “This new agreement between FIFA and Globant reflects each organisation’s vision to reimagine how football is experienced in the digital era, while preserving the emotion, community and global reach that bring the game to every corner of the world. 

“We look forward to continuing our cooperation with Globant as we build digital services that make our tournaments even more engaging and enjoyable for fans.”

What the partnership delivers

The new FIFA app will feature AI enhancements that encourage user interaction by providing real-time performance statistics and insights that give fans a richer experience.

Under the expanded agreement, Globant becomes a Tournament Supporter in North America and Europe for both the FIFA World Cup 2026 and the FIFA Women's World Cup 2027. The company will also provide support for other FIFA tournaments, including the FIFAe Finals 2025 in Saudi Arabia and the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan in 2027.

Beyond consumer-facing applications, Globant will help launch a FIFA player data marketplace: a unified platform enabling federations, clubs and partners to publish and exchange football data globally. Currently fragmented across multiple systems, this consolidated player data will be accessible to athletes, fans and scouts, creating real-time performance insights across the football ecosystem.

The partnership also brings Globant’s Gen AI capabilities to bear on personalisation, allowing fans to follow their preferred teams and players through customised content experiences.

AI’s growing role in football

Machine learning has steadily embedded itself across football operations in recent years. VAR (Video Assistant Referee) systems now use computer vision to track offsides with millimetre precision. Clubs employ injury prediction models that analyse training load, sleep data and biomechanics to flag players at risk of muscle strains or ligament damage before they occur. Match analysis software can track every player’s movement, passing accuracy under pressure and defensive positioning thousands of times per game.

What's changed recently is the scale and accessibility of these tools. Technologies once available only to elite clubs are becoming democratised through cloud platforms and AI services. A second-tier club in Argentina or Thailand can now access tactical analysis tools that would have required a full-time analytics department five years ago.

As the sport becomes increasingly data-intensive and fan expectations evolve, global governing bodies like FIFA are building centralised digital infrastructure capable of supporting innovation at scale. The renewed partnership with Globant positions FIFA to play a more active role in shaping how AI is used across the sport, not just in competitions, but in development, operations and fan accessibility.

Globant’s broader sports technology ambitions

FIFA represents just one pillar of Globant’s sports technology portfolio. Founded in Argentina in 1998, the company has grown from a 15-person software development shop to a publicly traded firm with more than 29,000 employees across 33 countries. Revenue hit US$2.25bn in 2023, with digital sports experiences becoming an increasingly important business line.

The company recently acquired a 51% stake in LALIGA Tech, transforming it into a joint venture called Sportian – described as an agentic AI-powered platform for sports technology. LALIGA Tech brought existing capabilities including audiovisual production tools used across Spanish football, plus second-screen apps that provide real-time stats during matches.

Sportian encompasses an OTT platform, sports marketing services, an end-to-end fantasy gaming platform and mobile and web applications.

Globant’s reach also extends into gaming through a partnership with Riot Games, the developer behind League of Legends and Valorant, where the company provides software development and user experience design. It also holds a role as an official Formula 1 partner, focusing on fan engagement platforms and race data visualisation.

A key player in sports technology transformation

With partnerships spanning multiple sports and digital touchpoints, Globant has positioned itself as a key player in sports technology transformation. The company competes in a crowded field that includes established sports tech firms like Stats Perform and newer entrants like SportRadar, but its strategy focuses on end-to-end partnerships rather than single-point solutions.

Whether that means a fan in Lagos getting match notifications timed to their preferences, or a scout in Peru accessing detailed performance data on a young Brazilian prospect, the infrastructure being built now will shape how billions of people interact with the sport.

By marrying the sport’s emotional heart with cutting-edge AI, Globant and FIFA are creating a smarter, more interactive and deeply personalised football experience. 

Come summer 2026, the game will no longer be confined to the pitch, it will be everywhere, immersive and truly next-generation.