Booster Robotics’ humanoid robots stumbled through a 3-on-3 soccer tournament in Beijing on Saturday, barely keeping upright and sometimes face-planting.
Frequent pileups, slow collisions, and robots needing stretchers made it look more like little league than pro soccer. Yet, the event marked a tech milestone: fully autonomous AI-driven play, with no human control.
These child-sized bots use advanced visual sensors to locate the ball and navigate the field, and they’re designed to get back up after falling — though some still needed human help. 
China is investing big in robotics, expecting the market to hit $108 billion by 2028. Morgan Stanley forecasts 302 million humanoids in use by 2050 in China, overshadowing the US’s 77 million. Most will work repetitive, simple jobs in factories.
Sheng Zhong from Morgan Stanley said:
“It is becoming apparent that national support for ‘embodied AI’ may be far greater in China than in any other nation, driving continued innovation.”
“In our opinion, China’s lead in AI-robotics may need to widen before rivals, including the U.S., pay closer attention.”
Sports are a big part of China’s push. In April, 21 humanoid robots joined humans in a Beijing half-marathon, with only six finishing. Saturday’s match previewed the 2025 World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing, Aug. 15–17. Eleven robot sports will compete, including gymnastics, track, and soccer.
Cheng Hao, Booster Robotics’ CEO, says sports tests help improve robot algorithms and hardware. Safety is a top concern, especially if robots play directly against humans.
Cheng Hao stated:
“In the future, we may arrange for robots to play soccer with humans. That means we must ensure the robots are completely safe.”
“A robot and a human could play a match where winning doesn’t matter, but real offensive and defensive interactions take place. That would help audiences build trust and understand that robots are safe.”
China’s robot soccer also scored on entertainment. The seriously lagging Chinese men’s national team might struggle to reach the World Cup, but these humanoids put on a show and scored 5-3 in the final.
Tsinghua University’s THU Robotics beat China Agricultural University’s Mountain Sea team to become champions amid a lively crowd.
Ng Han Guan / AP
Ng Han Guan / AP
Freddie Clayton contributed reporting from London.
