Biometric identification entering more sports stadiums and arenas around the world

In Cyprus, authorities have announced an upgrade of its stadium surveillance system with a new facial recognition technology that matches up to 80 points on an individual’s face against a central database within minutes. Currently, facial matches in stadiums take three to five days, Giorgos Karas, Chairman of the Stadium Licensing Authority told media this week.

The move comes after a Cyprus Cup football match at Limassol’s new Alpha Mega stadium had to be canceled due to hooligan incidents in January. Cyprus Football Association banned away fans from all competitive matches in the wake of the incident. At the beginning of August, police authorities called on football stadiums to fulfill obligations and ensure smooth and safe football matches.

Over in Adelaide, Australia, Cooper Stadium is joining the rising number of sporting venues implementing facial recognition. Sydney’s Allianz Stadium and Melbourne’s Rectangular Stadium, known as AAMI Park, both introduced the technology last year.

First trials at Cooper Stadium, also known as Hindmarsh Stadium, started in March during the A-League Pride Cup match between Adelaide United and Melbourne Victory. The security revamp is part of an AU$53 million (US$34.8 million) upgrade conducted in preparation for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

Brazil is showing that facial recognition can be a useful tool not just against football hooligans. In July, authorities in the capital of São Paulo apprehended a member of the largest criminal organization in the Brazilian state of Bahia.

Rogério Barbosa da Silva Gois, known as R6, was identified by the software at São Paulo’s Allianz Park stadium during a football match between Palmeiras and Bahia in the Brasileirão, the country’s primary football competition. He is wanted for charges relating to drug trafficking, according to media reports.

Meanwhile, authorities are taking other approaches to curbing football violence, including identity authentication.

In January, Greece introduced a new ticketing system for football matches which relies on a government identification app. The Gov.gr Wallet app was introduced after a police officer died after football fan riots in Athens in December last year.

Authorities have now enabled foreign passport holders to purchase electronic tickets through the Gov.gr Wallet system. The new feature, released this week, allows the app to read passports using the embedded NFC chip. Sport event attendees will need to purchase tickets through authorized providers and register them using the “guest mode” without user authentication.

Other countries are also introducing similar solutions. In preparation for preseason games starting on August 8, all 30 National Football League (NFL) stadiums in the U.S. have rolled out Express Entry facial authentication from biometrics company Wicket.

In the EU, football stadiums have been spreading biometric ticketing with Planet Group Arena (formerly Ghelamco Arena) in the Belgian city of Ghent trialing palm-based ticketing and El Sadar stadium in Spain introducing biometric solutions from Veridas.

Article Topics

biometric identification  |  biometric ticketing  |  biometrics  |  facial authentication  |  facial recognition  |  video surveillance