AI Robots Make History in Beijing with First Football Tournament

On June 29, 2025, history was made in Beijing, China, as the first AI humanoid robot football tournament took place. This groundbreaking event, organized by Booster Robotics, a tech firm run by Cheng Hao, saw four teams of advanced robots competing in a three-a-side football match.

The robots, developed by university students, were controlled using custom software to perform movements, passes, and kicks. Despite the excitement surrounding the event, the match highlighted the ongoing challenges in AI robotics. The robots frequently fell over, missed easy kicks, and even required assistance to stand up again. Some robots had to be removed from the match after failing to regain their footing.

Cheng Hao, the organizer, viewed the event as a significant step forward. 'In the future, we may arrange for robots to play football with humans. That means we must ensure the robots are completely safe,' he said.

The final match was a thrilling contest between Tsinghua University’s THU Robotics team and China Agricultural University’s Mountain Sea team. Tsinghua emerged victorious with a score of 5–3, becoming the first robot football champions. A student from the winning team remarked, 'They did really well, but the Mountain Sea team also gave us a surprise.'

Subramanian Ramamoorthy, a professor at the University of Edinburgh, noted that the robots were comparable to those seen at the RoboCup competitions, and their performance was improving each year. 'The mix of AI, football, and robotics is now a real thing, and it’s just getting started,' he said.

While the robots are not yet capable of replacing top human athletes like Kylian Mbappe, the event demonstrated the potential for AI in sports. The integration of AI in sports is an evolving field, and this tournament in Beijing is a significant milestone in that journey.