--- title: "The Role of AI at the World Cup — ZEBR.ai" description: "The phrase “Artificial intelligence is changing the world” is slowly but surely becoming a cliché, but few of us realize the impact artificial intelligence (AI) truly has not only on our everyday lives, but also on the most exceptional moments experienced by the whole world together – such as the World Cup…" url: "https://zebr.ai/en/blog/the-role-of-ai-at-the-world-cup" markdown_url: "https://zebr.ai/en/blog/the-role-of-ai-at-the-world-cup.md" language: "en" published: "2018-07-04T13:45:06+00:00" alternates: cs: "https://zebr.ai/cs/blog/role-ai-na-mistrovstvi-sveta.md" sl: "https://zebr.ai/sl/blog/vloga-ai-na-svetovnem-prvenstvu.md" sk: "https://zebr.ai/sk/blog/uloha-ai-na-majstrovstvach-sveta.md" hr: "https://zebr.ai/hr/blog/uloga-ai-ja-na-svjetskom-prvenstvu.md" sr-Latn: "https://zebr.ai/sr-latn/blog/uloga-ai-na-svetskom-prvenstvu.md" bs: "https://zebr.ai/bs/blog/uloga-ai-ja-na-svjetskom-prvenstvu.md" sq: "https://zebr.ai/sq/blog/roli-i-ai-ne-kampionatin-boteror.md" fr: "https://zebr.ai/fr/blog/le-role-de-l-ia-a-la-coupe-du-monde.md" es: "https://zebr.ai/es/blog/el-papel-de-la-ia-en-la-copa-del-mundo.md" de: "https://zebr.ai/de/blog/die-rolle-von-ki-bei-der-weltmeisterschaft.md" pt-BR: "https://zebr.ai/pt-br/blog/o-papel-da-ia-na-copa-do-mundo.md" pl: "https://zebr.ai/pl/blog/rola-ai-na-mistrzostwach-swiata.md" it: "https://zebr.ai/it/blog/il-ruolo-dell-ai-ai-campionati-del-mondo.md" nl: "https://zebr.ai/nl/blog/de-rol-van-ai-op-het-wereldkampioenschap.md" hu: "https://zebr.ai/hu/blog/az-ai-szerepe-a-vilagbajnoksagon.md" ro: "https://zebr.ai/ro/blog/rolul-ai-la-campionatul-mondial.md" tr: "https://zebr.ai/tr/blog/dunya-kupasi-nda-ai-in-rolu.md" id: "https://zebr.ai/id/blog/peran-ai-di-piala-dunia.md" --- [Home](https://zebr.ai/en/) [Blog](https://zebr.ai/en/blog) The Role of AI at the World Cup # The Role of AI at the World Cup [Acronis](https://zebr.ai/en/blog?tag=acronis) [AI](https://zebr.ai/en/blog?tag=ai) [blog](https://zebr.ai/en/blog?tag=blog) [cybersecurity](https://zebr.ai/en/blog?tag=cybersecurity) The phrase “Artificial intelligence is changing the world” is slowly but surely becoming a cliché, but few of us realize the impact artificial intelligence (AI) truly has not only on our everyday lives, but also on the most exceptional moments experienced by the whole world together – such as the World Cup… 04/07/2018 · 4 min read · ZEBR.ai editorial team The phrase “Artificial intelligence is changing the world” is slowly but surely becoming a cliché, but few of us realize the impact artificial intelligence (AI) truly has not only on our everyday lives, but also on the most exceptional moments experienced by the whole world together – such as the FIFA World Cup. Let us take a look at how artificial intelligence and machine learning are helping transform football at the highest level, and where else these technological innovations have become a catalyst for change. ## Data extraction: the evolution of football Traditionally, teams had to rely on retrospective reviews of video recordings of played matches to collect data for making training more effective, avoiding predictable injuries, and more. Before the start of this year’s World Cup in Russia, in May, FIFA announced that each team would newly be able to use one tablet for analysis in the locker room, while another would be available to coaches on the pitch during the matches themselves. These tools offer coaches and players new opportunities to evaluate every decision, as well as to respond promptly to new developments on the pitch – for the first time in history, teams have access to real-time information and analysis, bringing fans the promise of faster identification of trends in play and prediction of opponents’ tactical developments – simply put: when and whom to substitute, how to defend, and how to attack. Football was for a long time a conservative sport in which innovations such as video review of referees’ decisions or goal-line technology were long rejected. However, a number of teams officially welcomed the change, and positive comments could be heard, for example, [from the German team’s head coach, Oliver Bierhoff](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-soccer-worldcup-ger-data/soccer-germanys-bierhoff-welcomes-real-time-data-for-coaches-at-world-cup-idUSKCN1IQ1NM). ## Predicting results Another, and for many equally interesting, use of AI in football is predicting results. There is, after all, a certain chance that AI could be at least a bit more reliable than the still-popular octopuses, elephants, pigs, seals, meerkats, cats, or dogs. This year, however, AI will not yet defeat its animal rivals – the Swiss [Unanimous AI Swarm platform predicted](https://unanimous.ai/world-cup/) a German victory, but Germany was eliminated in the group stage; researchers from [Dortmund’s Technische Universität, in turn, predicted](https://arxiv.org/pdf/1806.03208.pdf) a Spanish victory, but Spain lost to host nation Russia in the round of 16, albeit on penalties. The Dortmund university had its AI simulate the entire tournament 100,000 times, evaluating the influence of 16 categories of factors affecting the probabilities of the number of goals scored by each team in every match. It appears that the German researchers put considerably more effort into their prediction than Paul the octopus, who successfully predicted all three results of the Japanese team in the group stage before being eaten by his owner ahead of the team’s final match against Belgium. ## AI and the fight against ransomware In addition to football, artificial intelligence is also transforming data protection. And it may well be better suited to this kind of work, at least for now: [Acronis Active Protection](https://www.acronis.cz/tiskove-zpravy/acronis-uvadi-samostatny-nastroj-pro-ochranu-pred-ransomwarem-acronis-ransomware-protection/) is the first AI-based solution that actively detects and stops ransomware attacks. Our cloud AI continuously processes enormous data sets – processes of safe and suspicious activities – from which it creates machine learning models that immediately enable it to monitor your systems in real time and recognize potentially harmful activities that may signal a developing attack. This differs significantly from traditionally deployed antivirus solutions, which can recognize “only” already known malware strains through a primitive comparison with a database of manually entered code from known malware. In the area of data protection, the benefits of AI are already clearly visible today. In football, the benefits of AI are still somewhat less clear-cut, but there is no doubt about the potential of artificial intelligence to transform elite sport. Article author: ZEBR.ai editorial team Read on ## More related articles [All articles](https://zebr.ai/en/blog) Contact ## Do you need a solution for yourself or for your client? 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