The 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar won’t be the only football players to watch: the participants will be too.
The entire event – including the participants – will be monitored by 15,000 cameras equipped with facial recognition technology, Nias Abdulrahman, the event’s chief technology officer, told AFP in August.
It is part of Qatar’s efforts to address security threats such as terrorism and hooliganism during the tournament, which is expected to attract more than one million spectators, according to AFP.
Since 2010, when Qatar won the right to host the FIFA World Cup, the country has spent more than $300 billion building new infrastructure, including seven new stadiums, according to Bloomberg estimates.
More: Complete FIFA World Cup schedule 2022
The surveillance network will be operated by the Aspire Command and Control Center, the technical hub that oversees the operation of the eight stadiums where the games will be held, Abdul Rahman told AFP.
Rows of security technicians sit behind monitors in a room that looks like a NASA mission control center, photos show.
“Basically we can open the stadium doors or all the doors from here,” Abdul Rahman said.
The control center will keep an eye on all nearby metro trains and buses, he added. Experts from Qatar University have also developed a drone that can estimate the number of people on the streets.
“What you see here is a new standard, a new trend in venue management, this is our contribution to the world of sports from Qatar. What you see here is the future of stadium operations,” Abdulrahiman said.
Security monitors will enable authorities to map access to rooms and equipment in case of an emergency, according to AFP.
“Whatever happens, there is a reaction,” Hamad al-Mohannadi, director of the command center, told AFP. “As long as there’s no property damage and no one is injured, we’ll just see.”
This is not the first time biometric technology has been used to survey fans at football matches. Facial recognition technology wrongly labeled more than 2,000 people as potential criminals at the 2017 Champions League final in Cardiff, UK, the BBC reported.
The use of biometric technology to survey spectators is not the only security concern raised about the upcoming World Cup event.
More: Complete FIFA World Cup schedule 2022
Norwegian broadcaster NRK said in October that visitors entering Qatar were asked to download two mobile apps that could pose a potential risk to personal privacy and data security.
“It’s not my job to give travel advice, but personally I don’t bring my mobile phone on a visit to Qatar,” NRK security chief Ovind Vasasen said after reviewing the apps.
The 2022 FIFA World Cup – in which 32 teams will compete in 64 matches – will take place from November 20 to December 18.