On October 5-6, the INTERPOL headquarters in Lyon, France, hosted a meeting that brought together INTERPOL leaders, police chiefs and global law enforcement experts from different countries of the world to discuss the challenges of securing major sporting events. The meeting featured presentations by INTERPOL Secretary General Jürgen Stock, Director of INTERPOL’s Operational Support unit Michael O’Connel and other INTERPOL officers involved in Project Stadia, as well as representatives of the EU sports governing bodies. The participants shared their insights on how to best address safety concerns in sport and developed concrete recommendations for FIFA and organisers of FIFA World Cup tournaments.

Anatoly Peskov, Board member of the International Association of Sports Law (IASL), delivered a talk on national and international security standards in professional sport. He offered proposals concerning fan violence issues, ban on alcohol in stadiums, speeding up the ratification of international conventions and raising the status and legal protection of foreign police personnel involved in international security operations. INTERPOL leaders and Qatar’s public security experts are expected to take part in the international conference and the IASL Congress on ‘Mega Events in Sport: Legal Environment’ to be held on November 17-19 at the Russian International Olympic University.