SECURITY AT A UNIQUE WORLD CUP

With the Men’s Football World Cup coming up in less than a month, David Stewart takes a look at some of the security challenges faced by the organisers and those responsible for making sure it is a success.

David Stewart is a former senior UK Police Officer and also the Managing Director of Taynuilt Associates Ltd, who provide consultancy services in major event security, risk, organisational resilience, crisis management and law enforcement via www.taynuilt.org.uk.

Next month will see what is undoubtedly the most controversial FIFA World Cup ever. Back in 2010 when the announcement was made that the 2022 event would be held in the tiny Gulf State of Qatar, there was uproar from sections of the English press and media. Undoubtedly, the decision from FIFA was unusual as Qatar is not a country with a football pedigree, either internationally or domestically. At that time it had only a single suitable stadium, meaning that at least seven new stadia would need to be constructed. And then there was the timing of the event. World Cups are always held in June/July to avoid clashes with domestic (and other UEFA/FIFA) competitions but, because of the climate in Qatar this would not be possible and so we have the first ever World Cup to be played in the winter, resulting in the re-scheduling of football fixtures worldwide.

From a Qatari perspective, they have the kudos of becoming the first Arab country to ever host the World Cup – a significant achievement for a county with an indigenous population of only 300,000 with the remainder of the resident population being foreign workers. There has also been much focus in the press about the welfare of those workers with repeated suggestions of poor treatment and human rights abuses – all of which have been countered strongly by the Qatari government. In addition, the fact that homosexuality is against the law in Qatar, has brought calls from LGBTQ activists for the tournament to be held elsewhere.

LOW CRIMINALITY AND TERRORISM
Notwithstanding debate around individual rights, there is no debate about the fact that Qatar is a nation that enjoys low levels of criminality and terrorism. The Global Peace Index, which considers such criteria as the level of Societal Safety and Security, the extent of Ongoing Domestic and International Conflict and the degree of Militarisation, and the Global Terrorism Index see Qatar scoring significantly better than western nations, including the UK and USA.

In fact, the last recorded terror attack on Qatari soli was 2005 when a car bomb exploded outside a theatre in Doha killing a British citizen and wounding 12 other people. The culprit was identified as an Egyptian citizen who had lived in Qatar for 15 years with the motive being the 2003 invasion of Iraq by western forces. Since then, there have been no terror attacks in Qatar and the country has actually played a pivotal role in supporting allied forces in hosting negotiations between the USA and the Taliban in Doha.

SECURITY PLANNING
However, all of this is in the context of ‘normal’ day-to-day life in Qatar and with the eyes of the world truly upon it next month, there is no doubt that the threat level will be significantly increased. Security planning for each of the competition venues, including stadia, training venues, team hotels etc. will all be based on the usual security principles and therefore really should only change with any increased threat.

The biggest challenge will likely be outside of the individual venues and in the public domain of Doha itself. Usually a World Cup event would be spread over geographically remote cities within a country (or countries) and so there would be a limit placed on the number of fans from different teams being co-located. This would normally mean the security operation would need to plan for there being perhaps two, three or four (at most) different nationalities of supporters in any one city. Qatar 2022 however will see fans of no fewer than 32 teams all in relatively close proximity. The furthest distance between the eight stadia is only 55km (34 miles) about the same distance as between Sunderland and Middlesbrough.

1.5 MILLION VISITORS
Organisers estimate that Qatar will see over 1.5 million visitors during the period of the tournament. Accommodation will include hotels, short-term lets of private homes, tented villages (desert camps are a traditional Qatari custom during their winter months) and cruise ships berthed along the coast. In addition, neighbouring countries, such as the UAE, are now selling hotel and flight packages with plans to fly spectators in and out on a daily basis, greatly increasing pressure on air travel and Hamad International Airport. All of these factors place significant demands on security providers and present their own challenges.

Plans are in place to try and encourage fans to remain within fan zones that will be established for them, with entertainment and refreshments available however, the close proximity of stadia, fan zones and accommodation to each other, and to Doha will undoubtedly lead to the mingling of a multiplicity of nationalities of football fans in Doha itself.

While private security will be heavily involved at venue level, the public domain element will all fall on the authorities, and this will result in challenges for policing and intelligence services. Despite numerous test events over recent years (albeit adversely affected by Covid), added to significant investment in training of police officers, there is little experience in Qatar of the operational policing of such events (and such a fan profile). As with all these international events, there will be an international policing ‘Fusion Centre’ allowing coordination from a public order/fan policing perspective, as well as an Event Intelligence Centre where information will be shared from the international intelligence community regarding more heinous potential crimes.

OUTSIDE HELP
However, even police forces with significant experience in major event policing can be challenged during such events (as evidenced by the Metropolitan Police at the 2021 European Football Championship final at Wembley Stadium) and therefore, it comes as no surprise to see that Qatar has agreed to receive operational support from other countries with significant experience.

It has been reported that Turkey will provide some 3000 ‘riot police’, 40 ‘security advisors’ and search dogs to support their Qatari colleagues. This will obviously need to be managed carefully by Qatar – they will need to overcome language differences (Arabic is only spoken by 1% of the population of Turkey) as well as cultural differences and, more importantly, operational policing differences.

In addition to this, open-source research (all of the following points have been reported in the Doha News – www.dohanews.co over the past 12 months) also highlights the following headlines; “Morocco to deploy cyber security experts to Doha, as well as ‘thousands’ of police officers”; France providing a BASSALT anti-drone system that helps detect and identify incoming drones and one of its Air Force’s four E-3F Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS), which can track hundreds of targets; The UK support will include maritime security from the Royal Navy, and advanced venue search training. The RAF will join forces with the Qatari Emiri Air Force and a joint squadron of Typhoon fighter jets will be used to secure air space; The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) signed collaborative partnership with the Ministry of Interior of the State of Qatar (MOI) to identify air passengers linked to terrorism, trafficking, detecting watch-listed travellers, and monitoring potential security risks at Hamad International Airport. The US Transportation and Security Administration (TSA) will also provide support for screening, baggage inspection, insider risk management, and other security-related priorities; NATO confirmed it will help Qatar with security measures including training against threats posed by Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) materials, which will be delivered by Slovakia and NATO’s Joint CBRN Defence Centre of Excellence in the Czech Republic. Turkey subsequently announced that it would also be providing CBRN support to Qatar; Jordan is recruiting former military security experts to be deployed in security roles at the tournament; Switzerland has provided air defence systems, purchased at a cost of $162 million to Qatar; South Korea are providing a number of counter-terrorism police resources; Pakistan is in discussion with Qatar about making troops available to support the security operation.

Most of the threats facing the organisers will be exactly the same as for any major sporting event held anywhere in the world; fan violence, terrorism and criminality (including ticket-touting, fake merchandise, pick-pocketing, people trafficking etc.). However, the laws and culture in Qatar, particularly around LGBTQ and human rights issues will also bring the potential for challenges, demonstrations and protests from visiting fans.

ALCOHOL
Alcohol consumption will undoubtedly present a challenge. It has already been announced (despite the fact that main tournament sponsors include those producing alcoholic products) that no alcohol will be permitted inside the stadium bowl, which is a significant departure from normal World Cup and FIFA protocols. Alcohol will be available at the various Fan Zones that are being established, including those inside the stadia curtilage, but those fans partaking will still need to be aware of the fact that being drunk in public remains technically illegal. This fact has recently been reinforced by the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) in guidance aimed at fans of the English and Welsh teams. The Qatari government has announced a more liberal approach, with the suggestion of training and guidance for police to deal with such issues in a more western context however, there is no doubt that that will be a challenge for the officers of the MOI and we will undoubtedly see any adverse reaction being widely publicised (and criticised) internationally.

The hosts remain hopeful for a trouble-free event with the Foreign Minister of Qatar quoted as saying that the fan experience being delivered in Qatar would ensure that visiting fans focussed on the positives and would act peacefully (Channel News Asia).

There is every possibility that the World Cup will run without a hitch, without violence or disorder and the last thing that Qatar would want to see is any adverse event that affects its reputation. There has certainly been significant investment in the security operation, which is probably more complex and comprehensive than any other World Cup has seen and time will tell whether the optimism of the Qatari government is well-founded.