Jun 28, Kathmandu - The current edition of the FIFA World Cup is showcasing cutting-edge technology, including sensor-enabled balls, real-time tracking, and AI-guided offside detection. Additionally, each of the 48 participating teams has access to their own AI assistants to enhance performance and strategy.

Behind these innovations are data workers from countries like India, Cambodia, and the Philippines, who play a crucial role in operating various AI tools and systems.

Football has embraced data analytics for over two decades, and now nearly every national team and major club employs it for player recruitment, training, tactical planning, injury prevention, and player management.

These data-driven approaches are also supporting broadcasters, video game developers, and betting industries. Teams in this sphere now often have dedicated data analysts and scientists with expertise in physics or mathematics.

According to Rafael Grohmann, Associate Professor of Media Studies at the University of Toronto, football has relied on data long before the current AI buzz. "Data workers are essential for the value chain in football," he explained. Grohmann notes that high-value analytical work is concentrated in wealthier countries, while data annotation tasks are often performed in Eastern Europe, Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asian cities.