Conceptualization of Sport Security

In order to identify security risks to the organization of sports events, it is important to have an understanding of what sports security means and what it entails.

The Council of Europe Convention on an Integrated Safety, Security and Service Approach at Football Matches and Other Sports Events (CETS No. 218) conceptualizes sports security as “all measures aiming to tackle violence inside and outside of stadiums, and incorporates all measures designed to deter, prevent and sanction any incident of violence or misbehaviour in connection with football matches and other sports events. It includes, in particular, risk assessment, cooperation between police and other relevant agencies and the establishment of sanctions.” This detailed definition includes spaces both inside and outside stadiums, which broadens the scope of the measures applied to sports events.

Alongside the concept of security, the Convention identifies the safety of sports events as “all measures related to the protection of people from being injured or facing a risk to their health and well-being during sports events. This comprises stadium infrastructures and certification and contingency plans.”1

Both safety and security, incorporated into risk management and assessment plans, could help reduce risks to the threat of terrorism, violent extremism, natural disasters and negligence to the safety of critical infrastructure.