The City of Johannesburg will conduct an ICT risk management security audit to determine how ready it is to deliver on its contractual obligations to FIFA and the 2010 Soccer World Cup Local Organising Committee.
Aspects that will be verified include the physical protection of the city's ICT infrastructure; network, server, data and application security; as well as disaster recovery, Imvula Risk Management MD Patrick Ronan said at last week's Connect IT: Joburg 2010 conference.
Nazira Cachalia, the city's programme manager for safety, told delegates the city planned to ensure "a seamless, people-friendly and incident-free safety and security environment during the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup and the 2010 FIFA World Cup".
The city has plans to reduce crime to identified target levels, she said. She did not elaborate what these were, other than stating that the strategy is based on proven risk management principles, will be meticulously planned and timed, and is supported by world-class training programmes. It will be "provided with every possible resource" in order to leave a lasting legacy, she said.
Other than supporting safety and security in the city generally and at the stadiums and fan parks during the two events, the local authority will also play a role in supporting the FIFA rights protection programme. "FIFA is a business," said Ronan. "It has rights that need protection, including its trademarks and that of sponsors."
Ticketing control
Ronan noted the city will also have a major role to play in safeguarding VIPs and teams, which will include real-time tracking, as well as keeping undesirable elements, typically football hooligans, away from venues. "The ability to track people will be very important, including the ability to cancel accreditation at the push of a button," said Ronan.
FIFA has retained control of ticketing, citing problems with the last two World Cups (South Korea/Japan in 2002 and Germany in 2006) as the reason.
Ronan said this was certainly not a blot on SA, as the ticketing solution was being developed in SA under the world football authority's supervision.
The smart ticketing system being developed, coupled with radio frequency ID and intelligent stadium management, will greatly ease event control, he said. It will allow authorities to keep track of how many fans, officials and volunteer workers are in which area of the stadium at any given time. The solution will prevent a repeat of the April 2001 Ellis Park Stadium disaster that saw 43 spectators die in a stampede caused by overcrowding, and a similar tragedy at Orkney, in the North West Province, in 1991 that saw 40 people crushed to death along a fence.
Related stories:
2010 is IT revolution catalyst
Metros seek networks synergy
Share