European ‘Think Tank’ Meeting - Wrocław, Poland
- NFIP Network
- 5 days ago
- 2 min read
A meeting of the NFIP (National Football Information Point) network expert group was held in Wrocław on 27-28 May. The meeting was attended by representatives of the National Information Points for Sports Event Security from all EU countries and associated countries such as Georgia, Norway, Switzerland, Turkey and the UK.
Each year, millions of fans travel across Europe for football matches. Public order incidents occur at more than half of these matches, posing a significant risk to the safety and security of European citizens attending matches or living in cities and towns where football events take place.
The high level of risk, documented by serious incidents at football stadiums during the 1998 World Cup in France and the 2000 European Championship in Belgium and the Netherlands, prompted governments and football match security professionals to set up the European Think-Tank in 2000.
The purpose of setting up the think-tank, which includes experts from EU member states and beyond, was to prepare a mechanism enabling the development of pan-European measures to prevent and combat violence and disorder at football events, particularly in respect of:
coordinating and overseeing the development of a European network of police National Football Information Points (NFIPs);
developing European-wide initiatives to enhance police cooperation, search for solutions, prevent safety and security threats, and provide protection at football matches;
developing the international exchange of information on the movement of football fans to matches across Europe.
During the meeting, delegates examined current legislative initiatives related to the security of sports events in force in the EU and the implementation status of the Council of Europe Convention on an Integrated Safety, Security and Service Approach at Football Matches and other Sports Events, also known as the “Saint-Denis Convention” (Council of Europe Treaty Series - No. 218). They also discussed the objectives of police cooperation in relation to securing the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2026 in Canada, Mexico and the USA as well as preparations for securing the final matches of the UEFA Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League in 2025.
The meeting concluded with a summary of the results of the annual questionnaire on the security of sports events in EU countries and cyclical projects such as: Project Stadia (Interpol), UEFA, Pro-S4; a series of training courses organised by the EU Agency for Law Enforcement Training (CEPOL) for police spotters and commanders of police security at sports events were also evaluated.
In addition, the participants attended, as security observers, the final match of the European Conference League, held at Tarczyński Arena in Wrocław on 28 May 2025.
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