The World Cup 2022 is coming. As the competition intends to receive two million in-person match attendees, the tournament will have 15,000 cameras equipped with facial-recognition technology to monitor the entire event. This is the first time that a Middle Eastern country will host this huge sports festival. In addition, this will be the first time that it will be held in a country with the characteristics of Qatar. The World Cup 2022 will kick off on November 20.
According to Niyas Abdulrahiman, the event’s chief technology officer, Qatar is working to look out for security threats through digital surveillance. It aims to prevent terrorism and hooliganism during the competition.
This Middle-eastern country invested $300 billion to build new infrastructure. It includes seven new stadiums, to accommodate the influx of people.
Aspire Command and Control center will operate the surveillance system. The company will establish the technical hub that oversees operations for the eight stadiums, Abdulrahiman told AFP.
“Basically we can open a door or all the doors in a stadium right from here,” Abdulrahiman said.
Metro, trains and buses
The control center will have eyes on all nearby metro, trains and buses, he added. Experts from Qatar University have also developed drones that can provide estimates of the number of people on the streets.
“What you see here is a new standard, a new trend in venue operations, this is our contribution from Qatar to the world of sport. What you see here is the future of stadium operations,” said Abdulrahiman.
The security monitors will enable officials to map out access to rooms and equipment in case of emergency, per AFP.
“Whatever happens, there is a response in place,” said Hamad Al-Mohannadi, the director of the command center, told AFP. “As long as there is no property damage and no one is injured, we will just be watching.”