(*) Dario Mojica, Director of Video Security and Access Control for Motorola Solutions in Latin America
Soccer is the most popular sport in the world. Euromericas Sport Marketing estimates that this sport generates at least US$700 billion a year if we consider the sample of almost 400 million players belonging to 2.5 million teams around the world. As a result, it represents a sector that exceeds the GDP of countries like Norway, Ireland and Sweden.
South America is undoubtedly one of the world’s main soccer centers. It is home to the reigning world and Olympic champions (Argentina), the most successful national team in the world (Brazil, with five world titles) and the birthplace of four of the most important players in the history of the sport (Pelé, Maradona, Di Stéfano and Messi).
This explains why soccer is a cultural phenomenon that cannot be separated from the history of South America and why going to the stadium to watch your favorite team play is a full act – of devotion – for a Latin American fan. However, there are several factors that can have a negative impact on the experience of visiting a stadium, such as fights, riots, thefts and crowds. That’s why, when it comes to such a beloved event, keeping the public safe is a top priority.
In recent years, video and monitoring technologies have contributed to inhibiting and reducing violence and vandalism in sports stadiums. Examples such as Beira-Rio and Serra Dourada in Brazil, Ester Roa, El Teniente, Elias Figueroa, Francisco Sanchez Rumoroso and the Municipal de Zorros del Desierto in Chile, River Plate and Santiago del Estero in Argentina, Atanasio Girardot in Colombia and the BBVA stadium in Monterrey, Mexico, use numerous video and monitoring technologies (cameras with behavior analysis capabilities, intelligent software and AI, access control systems, sensors, alarms, control centers, etc.) in order to strengthen their security systems and provide a better experience for visitors. In the case of Chile, the Catholic University is building a new stadium, the San Carlos de Apoquindo, which, as well as being the first sustainable stadium on the continent, includes security measures comparable to those implemented at Juventus in Turin or Bayern Munich in Europe.
But how does the technological security ecosystem work in a stadium?
Let’s imagine a hypothetical case: A man decides to take his young son to watch the final of a soccer match played by his favorite team. It’s the child’s first time at the stadium. At half-time, he walks a few meters away, gets distracted and loses sight of his father. That’s when integrated technology starts to do its job.
The father desperately goes to a security officer for help. The officer, equipped with a digital radio, communicates with the other employees and reports the situation so that everyone is informed. At the same time, the officer communicates with the command and control center and asks the father for a photo of the child so that he can be found as quickly as possible using cameras with people detection technology. The command center also controls access to prevent the child from leaving the stadium.
In this way, the video cameras located at strategic points (distributed in the entrances, corridors and facilities) make it possible to eliminate blind spots and capture high-quality images, even in low light and crowded conditions, making it easier to locate them. At the same time, the technology allows integration with the police communication system, should the incident escalate. In this case, the command center informs the nearest police officer of the child’s location and the officer contacts the guard who is with the father to arrange a meeting between the two. Alternatively, it could be that, in desperation at not seeing their father, the child has left the establishment in a crowd of people. In this case, from the operations center, it is possible to coordinate the support of emergency forces, firefighters and security, if necessary.
A situation like this can happen in any country. That’s why it’s important for new technologies to become popular and take hold in crowded places like stadiums. In this way, having integrated resources with land mobile radio devices, video, access control and command and control software, backed up by managed and support services, provides greater agility in responding to incidents.
The aim is to redouble efforts so that the integration of these technologies makes it possible to transform reactive models into proactive ones, providing faster action, early warnings and immediate and effective intervention. The important thing is that this sport continues to motivate people and unite entire populations – but safely!
*** Translated by DEFCONPress FYI Team ***