No major security incident recorded; the safest FIFA World Cup so far: Security authorities

According to a representative, there have been no significant security breaches or crimes thus far during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.

This demonstrates the effectiveness of the tournament’s safety and security procedures, which have drawn more than a million spectators from across the globe.

The National Command Centre has fielded 585,606 calls about inquiries, suggestions, and complaints since the World Cup began, and each call was promptly attended to.

These figures were shared during a press conference yesterday by the security authorities, including the Ministry of Interior (MoI) and the Security and Safety Operations Committee (SSOC) of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.

Addressing the press conference, Brig. Abdullah Khalifa Al Muftah, head of the Media Unit at SSOC and Commander of the Security Media Sector and Community Partnership, said: “Since the start of the tournament on November 20, no major or security-disturbing crimes have been recorded, and that the reports received by the National Command Center (NCC) were few and minor compared to the number of fans participating in the World Cup.

“The security authorities dealt with them with high efficiency. All the movements of the fans witnessed a smooth flow of entry and exit to sports facilities, and the security authorities provided guidance to the fans and the required assistance in all events.”

This, he said, shows the success of all parties and their cooperation in organising this global event.

“Efforts by the tournament security force and the Ministry of Interior have made this version of the FIFA World Cup the safest one, by applying security and safety measures for the masses in accordance with the best standards used in various locations,” said Al Muftah.  He noted that Qatar is leading in international safety and security indicators, such as the Global Peace Index, the Numbeo Database, and other indicators.

Al Muftah added that the tournament security force planned specifically to provide all facilities and services to the tournament attendees, at competitive and non-competitive facilities, to provide the appropriate security environment for the participating teams and tournament referees in the stadiums, training sites and residences.

“The security authorities were also keen to follow up and address any observations delivered by the fans through various media, being complaints or observations, and they were dealt with and answered in recognition of the importance of the opinion of the people participating in the tournament.

Col. Dr. Jabr Hammoud Al Nuaimi, the official spokesman for MoI and the World Cup security force, said the security authorities represented by MoI and the tournament security force made great security efforts, using the latest communication systems between all units through the operations rooms in the tournament facilities and the fan areas, linked to both the tournament command centre and the Central Operations Room of NCC.

The spokesperson provided some statistics on the tournament, saying the total number of calls received by the NCC reached 585,606, of which 16,000 were calls in the official languages of the World Cup.

“Communications included inquiries, suggestions, and complaints in different languages, based on the diversity of the tournament fans’ languages,” said Al Nuaimi.

He said the total official security movements to secure the movement of participating teams reached 4,256 by various security patrols.  “As many as 21,579 vehicles underwent security screening to ensure the safety of tournament participants. The sites included 37 hotels, 36 stadiums and 8 main stadiums.”

 

The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Security Force’s Maj. Abdullah Sultan Al Ghanim stated that the World Cup security team and Public Security collaborated to create the most secure environment in various fan zones.

He emphasized that tickets and a Hayya Card are prerequisites for fans who want to attend World Cup games.