FIFA Gives Otto Addo New Role 

Former Ghana coach Otto Addo has been named as part of FIFA’s Technical Study Group (TSG) for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

FIFA Chief of Global Football Development Arsène Wenger explained why Addo and several other football experts were selected for the important role ahead of the tournament.

Otto Addo joins a respected team made up of Tobin Heath, Jurgen Klinsmann, Jayne Ludlow, Michael O’Neill, Gilberto Silva, Jon Dahl Tomasson, Paulo Wanchope, Aron Winter, and Pablo Zabaleta. The group will work under FIFA Senior Football Expert Pascal Zuberbuhler and Football Performance Insights lead Tom Gardner. Analysts, data engineers, and performance experts based in Miami, Dallas, and Manchester will also support the team.

Speaking to FIFA, Wenger said the Technical Study Group was formed to help football continue to grow and improve.

“The Technical Study Group helps identify trends in the game, prepare future generations for football’s development and contribute to making the sport more exciting by highlighting the qualities players will need in the future,” Wenger told FIFA.

Wenger also spoke about the growing use of technology and data in modern football. According to him, advanced statistics and live match analysis will help the group better understand what happens during games.

“With an unprecedented level of high-quality data, the TSG will be able to describe, analyse and interpret what is happening on the pitch in a way that inspires both technical experts and football fans. We are not only collecting more data than before but also trying to strike the right balance between technical expertise and data. At the same time, we want to share our technical observations in real time during the tournament.”

The Technical Study Group will analyse all 104 matches during the World Cup. Members will either watch games from tactical positions inside the stadiums or from a special performance centre in Miami. They will have access to six different video angles and thousands of live data details from every match. The team will also help choose winners for the tournament’s official awards.

Addo’s appointment comes at a time when his coaching future has faced questions. Although he guided Ghana to qualify for the World Cup, he was removed from his role after Ghana suffered back-to-back defeats against Austria and Germany in March.

Meanwhile, Ghana national football team will compete in Group L at the 2026 FIFA World Cup alongside England, Croatia, and Panama. Ghana will open their campaign against Panama in Toronto on June 17 before facing England in Boston on June 23. The Black Stars will end their group matches against Croatia in Philadelphia on June 27.