Security specialists meet to ready for ‘safe’ World Cup
Wed, May 15, '24
Regional security specialists began meeting here on Tuesday to make this year’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup one of the safest sporting events in the Caribbean.
The experts gathered to finalise planning for next month’s tournament at a Sub-regional Technical Expert Meeting on ‘Enhancing Security Coordination for Major Sporting Events in the Caribbean’ which is being hosted at the National Council on Substance Abuse (NCSA) headquarters.
With less than a month before its start, the tournament has faced concerns over potential security threats, according to media reports. The reports said intelligence suggests pro-Islamic State media sources, including the Afghanistan-Pakistan branch IS-Khorasan, have incited violence against the sporting event.
The technical expert meeting here brings together security personnel, government officials and organisers from across the Caribbean to coordinate plans for a safe and successful June 2-29 tournament.
Areas being addressed include venue operations, crowd management, cybersecurity, counter-terrorism measures, crisis communications and contingency planning.
“Major sporting events provide a unique opportunity to promote a destination, generate significant economic and cultural opportunities, and promote development, particularly among young people,” she said. “But these benefits also come with significant security challenges, which have only become more complex through the years. The security aspects of co-hosting major sporting events, such as the T20 Cricket World Cup, also require significant collaboration and coordination among co-hosting countries to ensure the safety and success of the event.”
Read more at Barbados Today
