Comparitech recently conducted research into exactly this, looking at the top 100 stadiums in world football around the world, to figure out which football fans are the most watched. They have collated the number of cameras found in each stadium, focusing on the number of cameras recording the public in and around the grounds but excluding those that record and stream matches on television.
Football matches are always closely monitored, whether it be the World Cup, Premier League, the Bundesliga, Major League Soccer, La Liga, or beyond. And football fans travel in their thousands to stadiums to catch a glimpse of their favourite players. For instance, 1,977,824 fans attended the Woman’s World Cup this summer.
What many may not consider is the surveillance systems that are watching their every move, whether upon entry, exit or during the game.
According to Comparitech’s research team:
- 2 stadiums have over 1,000 cameras–the Luzhniki Stadium in Russia and the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan Stadium in India
- 25 stadiums use facial recognition technology to monitor their fans. A further four have considered and/or are trialing its use
- 17 stadiums claim that facial recognition is not in use. Certain leagues (e.g. the Premier League) ban stadiums from implementing the technology
Additionally, the top 20 most surveilled football stadiums, based on the number of cameras per 1,000 fans were found to be:
- Luzhniki Stadium – Russian National Team/FC Torpedo Moscow – Russia
- Turk Telekom Arena – Galatasaray S.K. – Turkey
- Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan (“Salt Lake Stadium”) – Indian National Team – India
- Mercedes-Benz Stadium – Atlanta United FC – United States
- Donbass Arena – FC Shakhtar Donetsk – Ukraine
- Azadi Stadium – Persepolis FC, Esteghlal FC, Iran National Team – Iran
- Parc des Princes – Paris Saint-Germain FC – France
- Santiago Bernabeu – Real Madrid CF – Spain
- Mineirão Stadium – Cruzeiro Esporte Clube/Clube Atlético Mineiro – Brazil
- Stade Geoffroy-Guichard – AS Saint-Étienne – France
- Mane Garrincha – Legião FC – Brazil
- Arena Corinthians (Neo Química Arena) – SC Corinthians Paulista – Brazil
- Elland Road – Leeds United FC – United Kingdom
- Stamford Bridge – Chelsea F.C. – United Kingdom
- St. James’ Park – Newcastle United FC – United Kingdom
- First National Bank (FNB or Soccer City) – Kaizer Chiefs FC – South Africa
- Itaipava Fonte Nova Arena – Esporte Clube Bahia – Brazil
- The Maracana – Fluminense FC, Clube de Regatas do Flamengo – Brazil
- Stade Pierre-Mauroy (Decathlon Arena) – LOSC Lille – France
- Estádio Cícero Pompeu de Toledo (Morumbi) – São Paulo FC – Brazil
As the findings suggest, surveillance is growing under the guise of providing protection to the public. That being said, another study on the most surveilled cities in the world, indicates that there is no correlation between the number of cameras in a city and the existing crime rates.
Ultimately, CCTV cameras are useful for deterring and solving crime, but they are also an invasive surveillance tactic, which is exacerbated by the use of technology like facial recognition.
