Dale Sheehan – Director, Capacity Building and Executive Education
Without a doubt, the COVID19 global pandemic has impacted every country, industry and person. The world of sport is no different. The cost of cancelled sporting events is unprecedented. Many prestigious and internationally renowned events have run for over a century, uninterrupted except for the World Wars. This situation is different. Sports are facing an uncertain and precarious future. A sport without paying fans and athletes batting against an unknown virus is a combination of a knockout punch, an own net goal and trying to find a football in a dark stadium.
When it comes to securing any major international sport events, intelligence and coordinating information quickly and appropriately through the various levels of public and private stakeholders involved in securing the event will be vital.
By integrating safety and security from the very start and into other areas of tournament operations, potential threats and risks can be identified earlier and planned for in a far more cost-effective and proactive way.
The landscape of major event security is rapidly changing. As a result, it is vital that security planning is properly integrated and communicated at a local and international level and that any risks are minimised throughout the whole athlete and spectator experience – right from border control through to the field of play.
“Applying an international standard for educating and training safety and security staff is vital to avoid repeating past incidents”.
We have seen some tragic events occur at sporting events and concerts over the years. Since these events, there have been massive improvements in sport and stadium safety and security management in certain countries, but as I see the situation worldwide, there still remains a stark lack of professional training and education to prepare security, stewards, club officials, police, and other emergency services to respond to an incident and understand requirements.
As we have seen over the last 12 months, hosting and bidding nations continue to face a growing number of challenges when it comes to major event security. These include issues around cybersecurity, fan violence and crowd management issues, terrorism, crime and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to name just a few.
Safety and security at sporting events has never been so evident with the incidents and threats that are taking place around the world. Because of the ever-changing threat landscape there are a number of factors that need to be considered; learn from previous events and tournaments; understand the mistakes made in other events and how they eventuated; the earliest planning for safety and security; the full integration of government, security, organising committee and functional areas; take advise from experts in the field and the most important phase is plan, train, test, train, test and test again.
Major sport events are short term initiatives with long term impact that pose a specific challenge to a host country’s sovereignty and national integrity. They involve many complex interdependencies, stakeholders and resources under the watchful eye of the global media and the public.
Please read carefully the following key recommendations prior to submitting a report!
Employees, athletes, betting monitoring companies and even fans, are usually the first to know when something is going seriously wrong in a sporting competition and within the sports business environment. A culture of turning a “blind eye” to such problems means that the alarm is not sounded and those in charge do not get the chance to act before real damage is done.
You can make the difference by completing an online report now!
Who can make a report?
Any person or entity who has knowledge of, has witnessed or has reasonable grounds to suspect that an alleged crime and or misconduct has occurred in international sport.
How does online reporting work?
Your report will automatically generate a confidential case file and alert SIU management.
We review the anonymous information we receive and collect, analyse and collate all relevant key points. An alert is then produced that is suitable for further inquiry and or re-allocation to the appropriate governing jurisdiction.
Is my anonymity protected?
Yes! Your anonymity is protected.
SIU does not track ISP addresses.
Independent 3rd party secure technical reporting framework in place.
Rapporteur provided with a secure mailbox, ID code and password.
Rapporteur may provide an email or remain anonymous.
SIU Investigators operate high-grade encryption.
How can I protect my identity?
We advise you not to report using a work server or issued mobile device/laptop.
Advised to use a VPN to mask ISP.
Remove all metadata from attachments prior to sending.
Not to advise other colleagues or friends of your report.
Use a password protected device.
Click to accept Please select the checkbox.
Please FIll out these Fields to Download Form
This website uses cookies to distinguish you from other users. By continuing to browse this website, you agree to our use of cookies.I Agree