Lieutenant Colonel Mohamed al-Sulaiti, executive director of Security for the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy.

 

Global security experts gathered in Qatar this week to discuss best practices in major sporting events security, acknowledging a compact FIFA World Cup in 2022 would be an advantage for Qatar.
The meeting was held under the auspices of INTERPOL’s Project Stadia, which will meet on a yearly basis in Doha right up until the 2022 mega event.
“The organisation of this important event in cooperation with INTERPOL will assist Qatar’s continued preparations for a successful and safe tournament in 2022,” said Lieutenant Colonel Mohamed al-Sulaiti, executive director of Security for the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC).
Countries represented at the meeting included Qatar, Brazil, France, Germany, Gabon, Spain, the UK and the USA. This is the first time experts from different corners of the globe, all with experience in major sporting events such as the Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games, the 2006 World Cup or the 2014 World Cup, came together to share their knowledge.  
Hans-Ulrich Hauck, head of Police Directorate 2 in Berlin, recently supervised the successful and safe celebration of the UEFA Champions League final between Barcelona and Juventus in the German capital. The match, which was labelled ‘high-risk’, concluded with only minor incidents thanks to an approach designed specially to avoid conflicts between fans.
Hauck, who also worked on security during the final of the 2006 World Cup  in Germany, said: “Fan segregation was an important factor to host a safe Champions League final. We made sure of it from the moment supporters from Barcelona and Juventus arrived in Berlin, which by the way has only one airport.
“We reserved different modes of transportation for fans from each side and also made fan zones available for each side,” he added.
Meanwhile, José Miguel Ruiz Iguzquiza, Police Intervention Units Commander at the National Corps in Spain, shared his insights on crowd and riot control in massive sporting events and restoring public order operations. The police chief was also involved in security planning for the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
He said: “Terrorist threat was the highest ever at that event but in the end thanks to good planning we earned a 10 in security because there were no incidents.”
With experience in several other sporting events such as the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil, Ruiz stated that with Qatar’s infrastructure, small size and stability, the tournament had excellent pre-conditions for success.
He added: “It will be easier to do it here than in a big country like Brazil. The key is approaching the tournament as a celebration, a celebration of football, where security is present but unnoticed.”
Agreeing with this analysis was Henrique Silveira Rosa, Special Commissioner, Coordination of Major Events in the Federal Police Department of Brasilia. Silveira said that teams had to travel very long distances in Brazil and fans entered the country from several different routes, while in Qatar “everything will be funnelled through the airport and this will be very good.” He stated: “The main challenge in terms of security will be coordinating the 32 national teams and guaranteeing the security of supporters and the population, which will be achieved by working collaboratively.”
American experts were also involved in the event, with Dr. Lou Marciani, director of the National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security at the University of Southern Mississippi, highlighting the importance of knowledge exchange.
The two-day meeting brought together 12 representatives from eight member countries with the aim of providing concrete recommendations to lay the foundations , for a safe and secure 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar, with the intention of building on those foundations year upon year.
The project also entails the creation of a centre of excellence in physical, personnel and cyber security for major sporting events which will also provide INTERPOL member countries with a repository of consolidated best practices. The experts’ advice from this conference has been captured and will be included in this database.
“Project Stadia’s first Sports Safety and Security Expert Group meeting sets a precedent by reviewing a selection of insightful success stories and case studies from major sporting events around the world,” said Michael O’Connell, INTERPOL’s Director of Operational Police Support and Head of Project Stadia.
“This group’s recommendations will ultimately provide a significant resource for member countries hosting such events in the future on crucial challenges and strategic countermeasures in the realm of physical security,” he concluded.
(SC.qa)