QNA
Doha
FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Security Operations Commander HE Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani has stressed that the safety and security of all participants in the 2022 FIFA World Cup, including national teams, fans and visitors, is one of the Security and Safety Operations Committees main priorities.
“The safety and security of all participants in the 2022 FIFA World Cup, including national teams, fans and visitors, is our main priority,” Sheikh Khalifa told QNA.
He said the tournament’s Security and Safety Operations Committee implemented a series of plans, programmes, training courses, and joint exercises to raise the capabilities of the security staff. One of the most important programmes was the Sports Crowd Security and Safety Programme, which was specifically designed to train government and private security.”
He said the programme included several training sessions such as (stadium security and safety, security sense, crowd management, human rights, first aid, and cooperation with the crowds). Other programmes included the Tournament Policies and Procedures, which covered facility evacuation simulations and training on how to deal with possible scenarios, and were conducted in cooperation with specialised experts from the European Police and Europol. In total, 32,000 individuals from government security and 17,000 individuals from private security have participated in these programmes.
“To increase our readiness, we have tested the security plans by implementing several simulations, in-office and on-the-ground, the most recent of which was the organisation of the Watan exercise in Nov 2021, with the participation of civil and military entities and forces from outside Qatar, as well as FIFA stakeholders,” he added.
Sheikh Khalifa said the exercise included implementing scenarios designed to simulate various tasks and activities that will be taking place during the tournament.
“This exercise has succeeded in enhancing the integration of roles between civil and military entities. This was achieved by activating appropriate command and control processes and communication plans, measuring the speed of response to emergencies, testing the availability of various resources, and piloting security plans based on the desired goals, according to specific performance indicators that aim to make this tournament the safest possible and most secure of all sporting events in the world,” he added.
Sheikh Khalifa announced that preparations are under way to hold the “Watan 2” exercise in October, which will include different scenarios in different locations. The exercise aims to further improve performance and ensure high levels of internal communication between the civil and military stakeholders and the participating forces from outside the State of Qatar.
He stressed that the various sporting events of Qatar has hosted in the past few years have been real tests to the readiness and preparedness of cadres, stadiums, apparatuses, and modern security technologies that will be used during the World Cup.
On international cooperation, he said that the “committee works in an integrated manner with its regional and international partners to ensure a smooth exchange of information and expertise in the security domains.
In this regard, agreements and MoUs have been signed with various countries and international organisations such as Interpol, the International Centre for Sport Security (ICSS), and Europol. “We have made all these agreements because cooperation with various international specialised police organisations and agencies is invaluable to implement security-best practices across all aspects of the tournament.”
On cooperation with friendly nations, he said that “first, we must emphasize that Qatar is home to highly qualified and trained police and security competencies and can ensure the security of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and all relevant activities. We also engaged other international security forces to further exchange and implement expertise our collective aim is security excellence.”
“We have signed several security agreements, MOUs, and Memoranda of Cooperation (MOCs) with countries who have specialised forces to provide support in securing the event if needed. These forces will work under a Qatari security command to ensure a unified effort that adheres to the established security plans,” he added.
As for evaluating our cooperation with security forces from countries, we greatly appreciate their full enthusiasm to make this tournament successful. That was evident in their participation in exercises, readiness tests, and security simulations such as The Last Mile Security Conference for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and Watan Exercise. We will continue collaborating with everyone to ensure the best organisation for this important international sports event. We are still receiving requests from different countries expressing their desire to participate in securing the tournament to enrich their own domestically-hosted events by expanding their experiences, expertise, and knowledge of managing major sporting events,” His Excellency added.
Responding to a question on dealing with rowdy crowd, he said that as soon as Qatar won the bid to organise the tournament, various committees were set up, including the Security and Safety Operations Committee, which have begun to develop training, qualification and readiness programmes and sports crowd management to deal with all potential security threats, including riots.
At the same time, he stressed the importance on close and effective cooperation with all countries participating in the tournaments. “From our side, as entities concerned with the tournament’s security, we are coordinating with the Ministry of Public Health to guarantee a successful tournament in terms of all organisational health and security aspects.”
He said the committee considers the security and safety of fans an utmost priority, adding that the committee aims to achieve a safe experience for all fans from the moment they arrive in Qatar until the end of the tournament.
“We are counting a lot on the cooperation of citizens and residents, who can help the tournament be a success by adhering to traffic guidelines and directives to ensure a smooth traffic flow during the tournament. This contributes to strengthening organising operations whilst also reducing traffic congestion during the event,” he added.
He said, “Finally, I would like to stress that Qatari fans, citizens and residents, are our main partners in ensuring the tournament’s success. They are the ones who will create the day-to-day friendly atmosphere we need to welcome so many fans to Qatar. If everyone in Qatar does their part to cooperate with the security and regulatory entities, we will all make this tournament the safest and most secure in the history of all sporting events.”
