Holzmüller Details World Cup 3d Experience With 16 Cameras
Johannes Holzmüller says the world cup 3d experience at the 2026 World Cup will rely on 16 high-resolution cameras, digital twins and ball sensors to help referees judge penalties and offside calls. That is up from 12 cameras in 2022, and it pushes soccer’s officiating stack deeper into computer vision and simulation.
The setup reaches beyond video review. Every player has been body scanned by a computer, then can be dropped into a virtual simulation so officials can place that player relative to the ball, boundary lines and other players. Hawk-Eye remains the optical tracking provider, while its system captures over two dozen skeletal points on each player at all times.
Hawk-Eye and Digital Twins
Holzmüller, FIFA’s director of innovation, said the tracking system uses 16 high-resolution cameras this time around compared with 12 in 2022. That shift gives officials more data points for the same calls, especially when a penalty area incident or an offside line comes down to inches.
The technology is not starting from zero. Video assistant referee systems and semi-automated offside technology have been in soccer for years, but the 2026 setup is being described as one of the most advanced uses of adjudication technology to date in soccer and across high-level sports.
Kinexon Ball Sensors
The ball will again include advanced sensors from Kinexon, with an ultrawide-band sensor and an IMU sensor setup that includes an accelerometer and gyroscope. Those sensors track the ball’s precise location and distinct touches 500 times per second, which gives officials a tighter read on when contact actually happened.
Maximillian Schmidt, Kinexon’s cofounder and managing director, said, "It’s vulcanized inside the bladder with a little plastic pouch". He added, "That vulcanization is just way more stable than those strings, which had hooks that could break easier."
2022 to 2026 Shift
In 2022, the ball sensor sat suspended in the center of the ball’s interior and was supported by a string-based sling made by Adidas. This time Adidas has created a small bladder to hold the sensor along the inside wall of the ball, a design change aimed at keeping the hardware steadier during play.
For readers, the practical difference is simple: the decisions that can swing a match will now be tested against more cameras, more body data and a faster ball-tracking system than the one used in 2022. The 2026 World Cup is making the officiating layer as technical as the sport itself.
