MIAMI GARDENS, FLA. (WSVN) - With the stage now set for the FIFA World Cup, local authorities and officials for the global soccer giant are hard at work to make sure the tournament is carried out smoothly.
For a tournament that requires coordinating 48 teams across 16 host cities and three different countries, logistics to ensure the matches go off without any snags can be very complex.
In Coral Gables sits the heartbeat and brain of running the entire tournament, FIFA’s tournament operation center.
“Basically, the footprint of the World Cup across the three countries,” said a FIFA official.
With 92 staff members working around the clock, the operation center will be live all day.
The center will make sure everything runs smoothly, from organizing and tracking team flights, fan movements, cyber security and South Florida’s weather conditions.
“The weather is obviously very important,” said another FIFA official.
The tremendous amount of coordination required to run the global tournament is no small task, but FIFA officials said they’re more than ready for the challenge.
“This is really the center of the tournament, right, this is where all the information from all of the over 500 official sites that we have throughout the three countries comes together and where we can do some centralized and informed decision making,” said Heimo Schirgi, FIFA Chief Operating Officer.
At the same time, local authorities have set up their own large-scale security operation alongside state and federal officials ahead of the World Cup. They have been preparing for months to keep the community and fans safe.
Miami-Dade County Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz detailed what it will be targeting during the tournament.
“As part of our preparations, we are also focusing on the issues that often accompany major international events, including human traffic, fraud schemes, cyber-related crimes and large crowd management,” said Cordero-Stutz.
The Miami-Dade State Attorney, Katherine Fernandez Rundle, is working alongside the Sheriff’s Office to prevent and stop human trafficking before the tournament begins.
“We have already executed various proactive undercover operations targeting sex traffickers and johns, and we are increasing that as we get closer to the games,” said Fernandez Rundle.
With unprecedented turnout expected at the stadium and fan fests, officials said there’s one threat they’re taking seriously: drones.
“We’re going to be enforcing temporary flight restrictions in and around Bayfront Park and the stadium. My advice to you is leave your drone at home,” said Brett Skiles, FBI Miami Special Agent in charge.
The Florida Highway Patrol will also have extra troopers patrolling the roads throughout the county.
The first match at Miami Stadium will be on June 15, and officials are telling people not to come to the stadium if they don’t already have a ticket for the game.
Soccer fans can also catch all the World Cup fun on WSVN Channel 7, starting on June 11.
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