Uefa has agreed a first-of-its-kind partnership with the European Space Agency that will pave the way for satellite technology to be used to avoid the dangerous crowding that almost cost lives at the 2022 Champions League final.
A deal has been signed for an initial 20 months and a Uefa source described the first stages as “exploratory” to assess how space technology can improve the game.
One of the key priority areas, i understands, is the use of space exploration’s most cutting edge satellites to provide real-time feeds of stadiums during Champions League and European Championship games where tens of thousands of fans congregate for the biggest matches.
A report into the chaotic scenes at last year’s Champions League final, played at the Stade de France in Paris, found that Uefa put the lives of Liverpool and Real Madrid fans at risk. Tens of thousands were held in crushing queues for several hours ahead of the game and only the calmness of Liverpool’s supporters prevented what the report described as a near “mass fatality catastrophe”.
The 2022 Champions League final was the second Uefa final within 12 months to be affected by the dangerous congregation of fans. The Euro 2020 final, delayed a year due to the pandemic, was overshadowed by chaos outside Wembley and another report found that it was lucky there was no loss of life on the day.
Satellite technology made available to Uefa as part of the ESA partnership will be able to help the governing body and its security staff to review previous events at stadiums for planning purposes and access real-time live data to monitor the build-up of people on the day to collaborate with police and security services.
“Keeping European football fans safe as they experience the joy and the heartbreak of the beautiful game is paramount,” Javier Benedicto, acting director of telecommunications and integrated applications at ESA, said.
“Importantly, this project will also explore how space data can promote the environmental and economic sustainability of football in Europe to ensure that all fans can enjoy it in the future. I am delighted that ESA’s partnership with Uefa will use space to improve life on Earth.”
Another of the areas that will be explored is using data gathered in space to analyse how football stadiums and pitches benefit local communities. Combining satellite imagery with socio-economic, weather and irrigation data can paint a picture of the impact a football pitch has on the wider area.
Using the ESA’s network of innovators Uefa will also assess how space technology can be used to improve social and environmental sustainability around football.
“We are confident that this partnership with ESA will bring incredible value to Uefa,” Andrea Traverso, Uefa’s director of financial sustainability and research, said.
“It is a way for us to address some of European football’s key strategic challenges by leveraging the expertise, network and resources of an innovative pioneer like ESA and explore joint collaborations in creating relevant and tangible solutions.
“This partnership also underlines Uefa’s ambition to nurture new types of cooperations to adapt ourselves even more rapidly in response to our current and future challenges.”
from Football - inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/gIGwlcX
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