[Saba Sports News] According to British media reports, FIFA will expand the use of AI at this World Cup to shield players and teams from abusive messages on social media. FIFA launched its social media protection service after the 2022 Qatar World Cup, and is offering its content filtering tools free of charge to all participating national federations for the upcoming tournament. The Football Association of England has not yet confirmed whether it will adopt the service. A growing number of Premier League clubs are already using AI to block racist, homophobic and misogynistic content on players’ social media accounts. The technology filters abusive and offensive comments via a database of 30,000 keywords and hides them in under two seconds. Users who post abusive content can still see their own posts, without knowing the content has been hidden and flagged for further investigation. Such offenders may be banned from purchasing tickets to FIFA fixtures and club matches.
The editor believes that while some athletes may not need this protection, many will welcome it as it safeguards their mental health. Quite a number of players start by clearing negative comments on social media right after matches, and now they can leave this work to AI.