Now comes another big event security test — and the potential for government technology to shine — as people around the world prepare for the upcoming FIFA World Cup, the latest edition of the world’s biggest sporting event.
The competition will take place at multiple sites in the U.S., Mexico and Canada in June and July.
More than 5 billion people watched the last tournament in 2022 and more than 5 million fans are expected to attend this year’s 104 scheduled matches, according to FIFA. Sixteen cities will host the tournament, which will include 48 teams.
Money is starting to flow into the coffers of agencies charged with protecting the event.
For instance, New York state recently announced it has received more than $17.2 million to defend against potential drone attacks, money that came through the federal government’s Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems Grant Program.
Four of the state’s public service agencies will split that funding — state police, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and the New York City Police Department. FIFA has scheduled eight matches for the New York and New Jersey area — MetLife stadium across the Hudson River from Manhattan — including the tournament final.
In turn, those agencies will buy gear and technology to better detect and track what a statement from the office of New York Gov. Kathy Hochul called “unmanned aircraft systems that pose threats to public safety.”
The federal government plans to spend at least $1 billion on World Cup security — for tasks that include training, cybersecurity, background checks and the cost of increased law enforcement at the 11 U.S. venues. The Department of Homeland security has earmarked $500 million over two fiscal years for protections against drones.
All that money also will go toward protecting celebrations for the upcoming 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, as the Hochul statement noted.
It’s hard to get a firm grip on the specific contracts and companies that will take part in World Cup security measures, but in this early part of the year, gov tech suppliers are getting ready for the job and positioning themselves to prove the worth of their products on this big global stage.
The federal government’s focus on countermeasures for suspect drones highlights how much those flying machines are changing public safety and helping to fuel gov tech growth. The World Cup promises to further boost both of those trends.
“This next World Cup will be different because of drone threats,” Travis Scott, vice president of commercial sales at Dedrone, told Government Technology. “This is going to be the largest multiagency effort in counter [drone activity] in history.”
People bent on causing trouble might fly drones via 5G or fiber optic instead of radio signals, forcing law enforcement and other security to use radar and other sophisticated methods to detect the machines. Cameras, radio frequency analyzers and microphones also help security personnel detect drones.
Motorola Solutions, too, will have a part in securing the weekslong tournament. That’s in part because its communication, video, analytics and other technologies have found common use among police departments nationwide.
It’s also because the company operates a drone tech “alliance” with SkySafe and BRINC — an operation that can help clients deal with what Motorola Solutions says is a recent 20 percent year-over-year increase in drone violations at major sporting events.
Motorola Solutions “will have a significant presence in each of the site locations,” Jim Wolfinbarger, Motorola Solutions’ vice president of software — and a retired chief of the Colorado State Patrol — told Government Technology.
He said the NFL has “tracked thousands of drone flights over stadiums in restricted airspace,” though “the vast majority operated with good intent.”
The NFL did not respond to a request for comment, though drones have delayed games and such incidents have increased more than 4,000 percent in recent years, according to one estimate.
Countering a mysterious drone doesn’t necessarily mean shooting it down, Wolfinbarger said. Indeed, doing so could violate federal law, though some states have considered proposals to give law enforcement that power. Jamming, GPS spoofing and even nets offer ways to counter drones that don’t involve bullets.
Drones won’t be the only security story at the World Cup. The emerging technology of real-time translation also will get a shot at the spotlight.
The Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office — located in the Bay Area of California, another World Cup site — is testing translation technology from Pocketalk, which sells tools that police officers and others can use to communicate quickly with a wider variety of people.
The department says it has two dozen handheld, AI-backed Pocketalk devices, along with 200 enterprise mobile app licenses, to make possible “secure, real-time translation in more than 92 languages,” according to a statement. “The tools are designed to support one-on-one conversations in the field and provide secure, efficient, on-demand translation.”
The sheriff’s department used the devices during the recent Super Bowl, held in Santa Clara, and will deploy them for the World Cup, too.
“Exploring technology is about improving interactions and reducing misunderstandings,” said Cindy Chen, the Sheriff’s Office’s principal IT manager. “Language barriers can impede our services or even escalate situations. By bridging that gap, we’re helping deputies serve every member of our community more effectively.”
Relatively mundane law enforcement communications also will play a major role in World Cup security.
Right after the Super Bowl ended, professionals at FirstNet — the dedicated communications system for first responders run on AT&T networks — turned even more of their attention to the global tournament. Indeed, FirstNet took part in helping secure the recent Feb. 2 groundhog hoopla in Punxsutawney, Pa., underscoring the scope of its work.
The company has spent well over a year on World Cup prep, according to Chris Stratmann, an associate director at FirstNet and a former CIO for the Kansas National Guard, a job that gave him oversight of emergency communications.
He said his teams are divided up according to Federal Emergency Management Agency regions, and with specific team members responsible for specific cities and venues. That might sound easier than it really is.
“Some of these cities have 12 to 15 other locations [relevant to the tournament], including hotels that teams are staying in,” Stratmann told Government Technology.
He knows that that no major sporting event in the U.S. has been attacked by terrorists since Sept. 11, 2001 — except for the 2013 Boston Marathon — though that doesn’t mean he takes anything for granted, of course. He gives advancing technology such as facial recognition some of the credit for that.
The “vast size” of the World Cup, however, offers ample opportunities for such attacks.
“We have supported the Super Bowl for eight years,” he said. “That’s given us a lot of experience. But the World Cup is that times 11.”
