In this World Cup, you can watch the match from the referee’s point of view

When you set elephant World Cup 2026you’ll catch a glimpse of something you’ve probably never seen before: a live, up-close broadcast of what’s happening on the field from the referee’s point of view.

The broadcasts will include a point of view captured feet away from the action by a small camera attached to the official headset, sitting near their temple. Images are sent wirelessly to the broadcast booth, where the video is digitally smoothed in real time and integrated into the televised program.

If you want to know what the game looks like from the referee’s point of view – whether you want to study your favorite player’s movements or just criticize the referee’s decisions – you get your wish.

Reference cameras have been used in broadcasts for a few years across major sports. The “Ump View” is being used more and more in MLB broadcasts to give viewers a real sense of the raw speed and motion of the pitches. Both the NFL and NHL have dabbled in using reference cameras to bring fans closer to the game Early 2018. But when we zoom in to see the plays from the officials’ perspective, what we see is usually not straightforward. Broadcasters will show excerpts during instant replay or during the postgame show, but rarely as part of the live event.

Football naturally lends itself to the idea of ​​a live reference camera. During a televised match, the main cameras are always set up in wide shots, so viewers spend most of the match away from the players. The reference camera provides a change of pace, transporting the viewer directly onto the field.

I provide iterations of video feeds from the reference’s body cameras, both at the English language development levels and in Trial 2024 In the Bundesliga, it was played due to a delay. They were mostly used to train and develop referees. But in March 2025, FIFA Council (FIFA) has approved the use of referee camera footage in live broadcasts, which happened for the first time at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup. Although this may seem like a small difference, the technological advancement required by FIFA and its partners to make that footage available for live broadcast was significant.

Challenge 1: Reducing latency in video streaming. It takes time – less than a second, but still enough time to notice – to send high-quality, error-free broadcast footage from on-field referees to on-field broadcast centers. The cameras worn by referees are not typical broadcast cameras with Ethernet connections. They have to transmit wirelessly across a stadium full of devices and full of radio interference.

Johannes Holzmüller, FIFA’s director of innovation, told me that his organization has tested a range of wireless data systems at multiple locations, including planned World Cup stadiums such as Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. They settled on a specialized 5G solution that wireless provider Verizon says uses high-frequency wireless bands for data.

Removing the “jitter,” or the constant bouncing and sometimes motion-sickness-inducing effect that the camera at the referee’s temple creates as he runs, stops and turns to follow the ball, was a bigger puzzle.

“(Broadcasters) told us they would like to use (the referee camera) more often, but especially when the referee was running or sprinting, the footage was very shaky,” Holzmüller says.

This wouldn’t be possible for actual World Cup broadcasts, so FIFA commissioned technology partner Lenovo to create AI-powered software to reduce this jitter to more manageable levels.

Just identifying this jitter effect and how much to manipulate it proved a challenge early on. No one wants to see raw camera footage bouncing around everywhere, but viewers also won’t enjoy unrealistic, obviously manipulated videos where everything is as smooth as a bad video game. How do you find the right niche, then train software to maintain it?