Never mind the football, the future of the World Cup is all about fan fests

DOHA: Fan fests will become almost as big an international as the World Cup itself as the network of venues spreads beyond the host country to 20 or 30 of the biggest cities on earth.
That prospect for a brave new world was held out at a forum on safety and security in Doha by Chris Eaton, Australian head of security for world federation FIFA.
Eaton also raised a vision of biometric technology for ticketing security being operative by the time the World Cup finals come to Qatar in the Gulf by 2020.
That would be bad news for ticket touts and for any FIFA insiders who – as some in the past – want to make some easy money on the side.
On the likely fan fest explosion, Eaton told the Aspire4Sport conference: “Fan parks have become the second most important feature of the World Cup. They are now international and by 2022 there will be at least 20 international fans parks in iconic cities such as London, Paris, Rome, New York and so on.”
But he warned: “In terms of security the fan parks are going to need an international standard which host countries will have to meet.”
Crucial question
Eaton’s security concerns narrowed down to the host country itself and the “most important security question which is: ‘Who are you?’”
He added: “We are looking ahead to 2022 at biometrics with the ticket. At turnstiles we’re looking at the visual aspect. Is it the same person on the visual who bought the ticket? Turnstiles are the best method not only to count people but ensure they are the right people.”
A recurrent them of the forum was a concern about adequate timing, training and disposition of security personnel. Eaton signalled a concern that most host countries are taken by surprise, whatever the depth of their preparation, about the scale and security demands of a World Cup.
He said: “[Host countries] need to involve police early. Police are often left behind and come in late. That’s a major error because the police are the people who have experience of what’s likely to happen in their country. It’s not just stadium design. They are not the only factor – there’s transport, accommodation and so on.”
Communication and coordination with security forces from the nations of the visiting teams was crucial.
Eaton said: “For example the United States team will come with a host of thread strings of their own because they’ve done their own security assessment and don’t share it with you until they arrive.”
The safety and security panel was hosted by the International Centre for Sport Security whose president, Mohammed Hanzab, later signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Qatar 2022 [World Cup] Supreme Committee on safety and security planning for the finals. Signing for Qatar 2o22 was its secretary-general, Hassan Al-Thawadi.