A sprawling system combining both civilian and military forces, and calling on many foreign countries, has been in place since the day before the opening of the World Cup.
The most visible stroll in arms and black uniforms in groups of four or five along Doha’s pedestrianized corniche or parade on horseback around the World Cup stadiums. Like the units of Operation Vigipirate in French cities, these regular Qatari police forces are above all there to reassure and deter. But tens of thousands of other security forces, more or less discreet on the ground, are on a war footing. To ensure hyper-security of the competition, a strategic and sprawling system involving all kinds of public and private, civil and military, local and foreign formations has been in place since the day before the opening of the competition.
A life-size training, called “The month(homeland), took place over five days during the last week of October. It mobilized 32,000 government security agents and 17,000 agents from private companies as well as staff from thirteen Qatar partner countries to secure the World Cup, according to the Qatar 2022 security committee. video of this giant simulation was broadcast on the Twitter account of this structure responsible for “the consistency and complementarity of roles and responsibilities”. We can see in particular riot police on the outskirts of a stadium attacking extra demonstrators and vehicles throwing water jets watering them while the mounted police pushes them back with giant sticks.
Qatar has signed security agreements with several countries to set up the system in anticipation of the Cup. France has dispatched 220 gendarmes on the spot, but mainly to ensure the safety of supporters of the Blues, according to the French Ministry of the Interior. Much more significant is the participation of other countries closer to Qatar. Thus, Turkey has announced since January the dispatch of 3,000 members of its anti-riot forces to deploy them around hotels and stadiums. A hundred police officers, 50 explosives technicians and 80 explosive-sniffing dogs have also been provided by Ankara. The Turkish Interior Minister also said he has trained nearly 700 Qatari security officers in 38 different specialties.
Another country involved in large numbers, Pakistan has dispatched some 4,500 soldiers from its infantry to Doha in recent weeks. Jordan also contributes militarily with a hundred former army officers, for a role of advice and training of local forces. Morocco has for its part signed an agreement with Qatar, according to the official press agency, in particular for cybersecurity.
As for the high military and anti-terrorist security, it is essentially supported by the United States and the United Kingdom. Washington, whose largest military base in the Middle East is stationed in Qatar, announced two days before the opening of the World Cup the strengthening of their system in the Gulf, officially “for fear of an Iranian attack” against its Arab allies. The British Minister of Defense had assured Qatar in May of his support to guarantee a secure World Cup. He had promised to provide “military capabilities” counter-terrorists, including from the Royal Navy, for the maritime security of the Qatari peninsula. Government advisers and ex-British officers working for private companies trained and advised the Qataris for various security operations.
On a daily basis, around the stadiums, fan zones and other competition sites, countless security officers operate on the ground. Brigades of young women and men circulate among the supporters from their exit from the metro to the entrance to the stadiums. Identity and security checks mobilize hundreds of agents at the detection gates. Same thing for all hotels and some restaurants, all secure.
To all these human resources are added the technological means. The essential app Hey on smartphones, compulsory to enter Qatar and to travel free of charge on the metro and other means of transport, is checked at all times by security agents. The surveillance of this whole system is ensured by 150,000 cameras placed in the streets and all public places. All are linked to the operations center of the official security committee which can react to any incident, or even fear or suspicion of contravention.