A man enters Rome’s Olympic stadium, Wednesday, June 9, 2021. The Euro 2020 gets underway on Friday June 11 and is being played in 11 host cities across 11 countries.
The entrance path to Wembley stadium, ahead of the upcoming Euro 2020 soccer championship in London, Wednesday, June 9, 2021. The Euro 2020 kicks off on Friday June 11 when Italy face Turkey in Rome.
Workers put the final touch to a painting at Wembley stadium in the build-up to the upcoming Euro 2020 soccer championship in London, Wednesday, June 9, 2021. Euro 2020 kicks-off on Friday June 11 when Italy face Turkey in Rome.
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Policing a 24-team soccer tournament in 11 cities scattered across 10 countries was always going to be tough even before the coronavirus pandemic compounded the challenges facing law enforcement authorities overseeing the European Championship.
Europol, the European Union police agency, has created a nerve center of about 40 police liaison officers from 22 nations for the tournament, which opens Friday in Rome and ends on July 11 at Wembley Stadium in London.
“The current Euro 2020 championship is of an unprecedented complexity,” Europol executive director Catherine De Bolle said Thursday.
“It is the first ever championship organized by 10 different countries instead of only one or two, as we had seen in past editions,” De Bolle said. “It is also the first large-scale event organized during the COVID-19 pandemic related to sports. And all this, of course, presents important security challenges.”
In Europol’s main meeting room near the North Sea beaches of The Hague, liaison officers are working together to counter any threats that emerge by instantly sharing intelligence.
Their desks are socially distanced and arranged into Euro 2020 groups. For example, Italy, Switzerland, Turkey and Wales are seated together, reflecting the makeup of the tournament’s Group A. The officers will be working in shifts almost around the clock throughout the tournament. Starting at 8 a.m. and finishing only when they’re certain all fans have gotten home safely.
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