MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Millions of soccer fans are expected to flock to 11 U.S. cities. world cupand security planners are working with state, local, and federal law enforcement agencies to monitor the unprecedented security threat.
“This is not just a national or continental tournament,” said Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House World Cup Task Force. “For us here in the United States, these are 11 local events. So we rely on the expertise of law enforcement in these areas to understand this complex issue and also provide federal resources.”
The expanded tournament, which begins next week, will feature 48 teams, 104 games and three host nations. Giuliani spoke Thursday at a World Cup kickoff event about the security challenges in preparing for a tournament of this magnitude, from monitoring trends across the state to mitigating heat.
“We also want to make sure that Miami is not isolated from Seattle,” Giuliani said. “Because if police see something in Miami Beach or downtown Miami, and someone in Seattle also saw it, if there are further trends that could threaten other host cities, we need to make sure that that information is resolved. So therein lies the complexity of this issue.”
Preparations have been underway for months. Giuliani and members of the task force have attended major events in the United States; Including College Football Playoff We’ll look at how host cities are coordinating security and logistics for January’s championship games.
The host city is also receiving $625 million in federal security funding to strengthen its preparedness, and Giuliani said some of that money will be used to reimburse law enforcement officials for additional security measures.
Recent challenges that planners are monitoring include: A rare type of Ebola outbreak The virus hit Congo and Uganda. The World Health Organization has declared this a public health emergency of international concern.
Giuliani said security officials had confirmed with the Congolese national team that no team had been in the region for more than 21 days and warned teams not to include players in their training camp who had been in Congo within the past three weeks.
“If we do that and someone develops symptoms, we could be at risk of not being able to go to Houston for the World Cup,” he said.
Congo had already canceled the three-day World Cup. Preparation camp And due to the spread of the virus, plans are being made to say farewell to fans in the capital Kinshasa. Spain’s La Linea de la Concepción mayor also sought to hold a qualifier against Chile after the mayor of La Linea de la Concepción refused permission for the match, citing health concerns over the spread of the virus.
Federal officials are also discussing FIFA Change of policy Banning fans from bringing refillable water bottles into the tournament’s 16 stadiums across North America, including stadiums with limited or no shade.
“We certainly understand that fans have bottles. If there’s something frozen in there, they can throw it and use it as a weapon,” Giuliani said, later adding, “We want to make sure that fans have access to water so they can stay hydrated that way. We also want to make sure that everyone is safe and that people can’t bring weapons in there. So those conversations are still ongoing.”
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AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup
