FIFA Officially Opens 2026 World Cup International Broadcast Centre In Dallas As Gianni Infantino Calls It Absolutely Incredible
Nine days before the opening match, FIFA cut the ribbon on the most technologically advanced broadcast centre in World Cup history. Gianni Infantino was there, and he was not understating it.
The Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Centre in Dallas became the centre of the broadcasting world on Tuesday morning. FIFA officially opened the International Broadcast Centre for the 2026 World Cup at the facility, with president Gianni Infantino and Dallas Mayor Eric L. Johnson both on stage to mark the occasion. Around 2,000 broadcast media representatives, many of whom will be based at the centre for up to seven months, were in attendance.
Infantino described what has been assembled as the most technologically advanced international broadcast centre the world has ever seen. "It's absolutely incredible to be here in Dallas at this fantastic International Broadcast Centre," he said. "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."
Inside the Facility and What Makes It Different
The IBC spans 45,000 square metres across the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Centre and serves as the operational headquarters for FIFA's host broadcaster, all FIFA Media Partners, the Video Content Production Department, the Football Technology and Innovation Department, and the VAR room. Dallas was chosen partly because of its central location across the three-nation tournament footprint and partly because it hosted the IBC for the 1994 World Cup, making this a return engagement.
Technology partner Lenovo has deployed more than 17,000 devices across venues and team base camp training sites, supported by over 200 engineers. Their servers manage live video data from stadiums across North America, with latency reduced to under five seconds across more than 1,000 screens at all FIFA venues.
The AI Innovations That Will Change How Fans Watch
Two specific innovations will feature prominently in broadcasts. The first involves 3D player avatars built from digital scans taken on arrival, enabling more realistic VAR offside displays. The process takes approximately one second per player. The second is a stabilised referee camera view, building on a trial at last year's Club World Cup, which smooths body camera footage in real time for cleaner first-person broadcast footage.
Mayor Johnson called the facility a world-class media hub and noted Dallas will host more World Cup matches than any other city, nine in total. The tournament begins June 11.