With about 150 days before the World Cup competition gets underway, the Stiftung Warentest, a watchdog group that inspects consumer products’ quality, has become involved in security inspections of the World Cup soccer stadiums, a move that is slightly out of their bailiwick and is raising the hackle of the collective German population . The foundation’s focus was primarily on “fire-protection measures and emergency evacuation plans” and reported that many would perish in a mass panic in the stadiums because attendees would not be able to flee onto the field fast enough. Such crises took place in Brussels in 1985 in which 39 people died and in Sheffield in 1989 in which 96 died; in both cases, people were trampled in the chaos. On January 10, the foundation released its findings of 12 stadiums that are slated to host World Cup games from June 9 through July 9.
Of the 12, four stadiums allegedly have “considerable deficiencies,” while four others are purported to have “clear deficiencies.” Many of the stadiums?including Berlin’s Olympic Stadium, which would host the final competition?were criticized for their impeded evacuation routes. Others had structural and maintenance problems, neither of which comes as a surprise since the stadiums were first build nearly 70 years ago, although reconstruction and refurbishment costs in anticipation of the games have approached 1.5 billion Euro. According to their website, the foundation indicated that the particularly concerning stadiums included Olympiastadion Berlin, Veltins-Arena Gelsenkirshen, Fritz-Walter-Stadion Kaiserslautern, and Zentralstadion Leipzig. Allianz-Arena M?nchen received the best ratings. The results of the test link can be made available in English by request.
World Cup organizers fired back resounding counters to the Stiftung Warentest’s findings, claiming that the 12 stadiums are routinely used for both national soccer matches and Champions League tournaments without issue. Further, Interior Minister Wolfgang Sch?uble has gone so far as to petition to amend the German constitution to allow the military to provide security, likely at physical structures like embassies, if needed to resolve “‘spontaneous’ events.” His petition has drawn stark criticism throughout the coalition government and particularly by Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung. The security plans for the games were finalized by Germany’s 16 regional interior ministers in Stuttgart in May 2005 and include video surveillance, contingency plans, and deployments of police, medical, fire, and disaster protection units.
The US sent a team of government security officials in November 2005 to discuss the threat of terrorism, and according to an unidentified interior ministry expert, “the Americans?were impressed by the preparations and keen to work more closely.” To date, there have been no overt threats by militant or terrorist organizations against the World Cup Games. Sch?uble did note, though, that “Germany?like the USA and Great Britain?is in the sights of international terrorism.” To that, cross-border cooperation, especially in identifying hooligans and criminals, is well underway with border controls likely coming into place during the games. And, the World Cup sporting event is at the caliber and international stage of Olympic Games, which have been targeted?specifically in Munich, Germany ?by terrorism. Security experts contend that disruptions, however, should be anticipated by drunken, belligerent hooligans and violent criminals, both witnessed each year at similar events. This year, public viewing areas?big screen public broadcasts of the matches?may prove an additional security headache, as a central meeting point for passionate, imbibing fans of rival teams meet at specified locations.
The idea of testing the stadiums for crisis situations is a good, sober one, although having a consumer goods’ foundation perform the tests does not lend the findings much credibility. Should the World Cup organizers wish to counter the findings, it would be well advised to hire a consulting firm that specializes in security in sports arenas. Those findings would hold considerably more weight and offer a more sobering perspective into what crisis management tenets might be lacking.