Preparing for the World Cup in Qatar: a security issue

The countdown to the 2022 World Cup has begun. Almost 12 years after Qatar obtained the organising rights to host the football competition, the first World Cup to be held in the Arab world will finally kick off on 20 November at the Al-Bayt stadium in a match between the local team and Ecuador.   
 
So far the country has spent tens of billions of dollars - some estimates put the amount at close to $200 billion (192.4 billion euros) - to build the right sports facilities to host the World Cup. Another tens of billions of euros, on the other hand, have been spent on security around the sporting event. It should not be forgotten that the country, with just three million inhabitants, is one of the world's largest producers of natural gas. 
 
In fact, holding the event in a desert state has necessitated a reorganisation of the international football calendar, shifting the sporting event to winter - until now it was usually held in the northern hemisphere's summer - to avoid the scorching heat of the Gulf state.
 
According to the World Cup organisers, more than 1.2 million fans will travel to Qatar and in response to the influx of tourists, cruise ships have been set up as floating hotels in response to concerns about the lack of accommodation. In addition, about 2.9 million of the 3.1 million tickets have been sold, according to organisers. Fans have been waiting outside the FIFA ticketing centre in the hope that some tickets will be available for the most important matches of the football tournament. 

Security during the tournament 
 
The 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar Security Operations Committee (SSOC) held a training and leadership programme weeks before the start of the football tournament, which was closed by Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad al-Thani, Head of Security Operations for the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar, together with Colin Smith, Director of FIFA World Cup Operations and CEO of Qatar 2022. 
 
Up to 180 expert security officers have been certified to provide training to government and private security forces. 
 
In fact, the security preparedness plan envisages a deployment of 32,000 government and 17,000 private security personnel. According to Abdul Rahman Hamad al-Suwaidi, deputy head of the SSOC's Training and Development Unit, "All our training programmes have been internationally accredited, implemented and supervised by Qatari nationals. Those who have trained and qualified now will represent a future legacy for Qatar, where their skills and training will be put to good use even beyond the tournament".  
 
Some of the key security aspects that the World Cup will focus on include crowd safety and crowd control; risk and security management; and emergency response to major accidents.
 
So far, the SSOC is fulfilling its training mandate on time; and announces the optimal preparedness of all security forces to receive and protect the more than one million visitors expected to arrive from abroad to attend the World Cup.
 
In addition, a National Security Centre will monitor 15,000 security cameras with facial recognition technology in the eight World Cup stadiums. This will be done using SkyDome and DroneHunter systems from US-based Fortem Technologies. In addition, most of the stadiums are located within a radius of just 70 kilometres of each other in the city of Doha, where all the fans will also be concentrated. 

External security support 
 
Qatar, however, is a country with little experience in organising macro-events of this magnitude, which is why it has needed the support of other countries in order to keep security barriers as high as possible. 
 
For example, the British Ministry of Defence, among other countries, has confirmed that both the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy will contribute to the security exercise at the World Cup. Eurofighter Typhoons from Number 12 Squadron will support counter-terrorism efforts during the FIFA competition. 
 
Digitisation of security
 
Aspire Command and Control Center has been created for this sporting event as a modern control room from which to remotely manage all venues. This system includes a comprehensive measurement of every parameter and a digitisation system that replicates each of the infrastructures in 3D. Hamad Ahmed al-Mohannadi, director of the centre, explained that "this system is usually used in security or military-related centres". 
 
In addition, all cyber security systems are unified by a single platform that is analysed every second by 80 workers 24 hours a day. 
 
Niyas Abdulrahiman, chief technology officer at the Command and Control Centre, told the EFE news agency that "the aim is also to ensure that everything works properly without interfering with the amateurs". In fact, faced with the possibility of both internal and external cyber-attacks, Abdulrahiman believes that they have chosen the right tools to protect themselves and a team of qualified experts in the field. 
 
 
Restrictions during the World Cup in Qatar 

Despite hosting more than two million tourists who will come to the country for the World Cup event alone, Qatar has imposed rules that it considers basic and indisputable during their stay in the country, for example: 

• The prohibition of drinking alcohol in the street or being drunk in public places. Drinking alcoholic beverages will only be allowed in hotel bars and areas designated for tourists. If this rule is not respected, the tourist could be fined or imprisoned for up to 6 months. With regard to drugs, those who buy or transport narcotic drugs and dangerous psychotropic substances will be punished with a prison sentence of between 7 and 15 years.

• Nor may the LGBTIQ+ flag be flown, with penalties ranging from 7 to 11 years' imprisonment. 

• Affection may not be shown in public spaces if the persons involved are not married (punishable by up to 7 years' imprisonment) or engage in verbal or physical aggression on public roads, including in traffic disputes. 

• Under no circumstances may photographs or videos be taken without authorisation, especially in religious, military or construction sites. 

• The government also asks tourists to adopt a dress code, such as keeping shoulders and knees covered in public places, and to avoid excessive make-up. 
 

• The national policy is zero tolerance and applies to situations such as partying or shouting in public.

• Prostitution also carries heavy fines or criminal penalties. In addition, according to the Spanish Foreign Ministry, religious books or pornographic content are prohibited from entering the country. 

• Desecration or blasphemy of the local religion (Islam) is not permitted under any circumstances.