HIGH-definition screens flash constant streams of data as British intelligence researchers work around the clock in a vast security nerve centre bigger than a football pitch.
Crack police teams from nations across Europe sit side-by-side at workstations in a constant vigil to snuff out potentially deadly threats.
But this is not Britain’s GCHQ listening post or a Pentagon war room — it is the hub of the biggest soccer security operation in history at Euro 2024 in Germany this summer.
It is expected that 300,000 fans of England and Scotland will head from the UK for the month-long tournament, which kicks off on June 14.
German authorities admit that, as well as soccer hooligans, they are trying to counter unprecedented terror threats from IS and rogue factions spilling out of the war to the east in Ukraine.
And growing tensions in the Middle East are only adding to their security concerns.
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Germany’s answer has been to pull together 300 of Europe’s top police brains to oversee the daunting security challenge from the purpose-built International Police Cooperation Centre at Neuss in western Germany.
And the man in charge of the British presence spoke for the first time last night of the vital role that will be played by three specialist officers spearheading the intelligence operation.
Former Met officer Mick Johnson, director of the UK Football Policing Unit, told The Sun on Sunday: “I’ve no doubt it’ll be a well-run machine.
“We’ll have three staff working shifts. That’s one more than most nations, because English fans tend to start early and finish late.
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“They’ll work in three-day stints starting one day before games, match day itself and the day after.
“We have a team of plain-clothed operational football officers — once called spotters — on the ground watching fans who will report to our team based in the IPCC.
“If they spot anyone causing trouble, or identify anyone who’s been banned from matches, they will tell the IPCC team who’ll relay it to the Germans who will step in to take action as they see fit.
“There will be three or four games a day so each hub will feed into the central IPCC coordinating centre at the same time.
“It’s a good system. We’ve used it many times and I have to say the Germans are up with the best in the world at organising it.”
Security forces face the task of protecting 2.7million fans, 24 team base camps, and ten stadiums where 51 matches will be played between June 14 and July 14.
Police leave has been banned as fan zones nationwide are expected to attract 12million visitors and have been identified as the most likely terror targets.
In an unprecedented move, Germany has invited 300 security experts from competing nations to the state-of-the-art Neuss HQ.
UK experts will work in shifts alongside officials from Germany, Europol and European football body Uefa sifting data from live CCTV streams and the undercover spotters mingling with fans.
The hub of the operation is a hangar-like 500 sq metre conference room equipped with 129 computers and a giant 40 sq metre screen.
Tournament director Philipp Lahm said: “From the outset, security has been our top priority.”
Oliver Strudthoff, director of the IPCC, said: “Each country knows its troublemakers better than any other and the foreign experts present in Neuss will be able to identify them more quickly.
“A delegation’s size will depend on number of fans and how potentially dangerous they are.
“England, for example, will have more representatives than Switzerland.”
Among the visitors to the HQ was Herbert Reul, minister of the interior of North Rhine-Westphalia.
The country’s interior minister, Nancy Faeser, revealed in March that an Islamist attack in Moscow had raised “dangers to a new level”.
Her chilling alert came just days after the ISIS-K terrorist atrocity at a concert hall in Moscow killed 143.
Among the drastic steps taken to protect Three Lions fans will be a plan to close borders temporarily and to ramp up frontier checks.
A ring of steel will be thrown around every team base, including the home for Gareth Southgate’s England stars, who will be staying with their families at the five-star Weimarer Land Golf Resort and Spa in Blankenhain.
More than 1,600 known England yobs have been banned from travel to Germany during the tournament.
Between 800 and 1,300 police will be deployed around the stadiums at each match guarding three separate security perimeters.
Cars will be checked at the first, bags searched at the second and tickets scanned at the third.
Fan zones are feared to be softer terror targets as they welcome tens of thousands for every match.
The German Army will scan the skies around matches for drone attacks and will feed data into the IPCC central command.
Mr Johnson, whose nerve centre team will be led by his deputy Paul Foley, expects a minority of England fans to cause trouble but shares the hope it will be kept to a minimum.
He said: “With England there are always going to be those who drink too much and engage in anti-social behaviour.
“They might sing songs that they shouldn’t and are generally a pain in the arse.
“But, by and large, they don’t get involved in premeditated violent outbursts and we’ve no major concerns with any of the teams we’ll be playing in the group stages.
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“We’re hopeful that it’s going to be really pleasant and enjoyable for all and let’s hope England fans get voted best fans in the tournament.
“We’ve got to win something.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
