The UK Football Policing Unit will send only three officers to this summer’s World Cup after a failure to secure extra funding from authorities in the United States.
With as many as 15,000 England fans expected at each group fixture, police said their role would be to act as “cultural interpreters” for local law enforcement and they had no concerns over the safety of supporters in the US.
“The number of officers we send is generally dependent on the request of the host and [US] states aren’t funding mobile delegations this time,” said the head of the UKFPU, chief constable Mark Roberts. He added that the unit cannot fund more officers themselves, citing a 10% cut in its funding from the Home Office.
“This isn’t a criticism, it’s a statement of fact. There will be [lead officer] Supt Gareth Parkin supported by two football officers, which is a significant change to what we would normally employ. But we’re having to fund that, so that’s limited the number of officers we can get out there.”
Roberts said the UKFPU had given online presentations to each of the 16 World Cup host cities on how to engage with supporters, with England’s group-stage matches taking place in Dallas, Boston and East Rutherford, New Jersey.
“We have to work hard to make the point that our fans behave really well,” he said. “They may have a drink or two, but we will be often trying to calm people down and say this is not a problem. It’s not going to lead to disorder. They are just having a good time and enjoying themselves. Equally, it’s important to get the message to supporters that while certain things might be acceptable in the UK they might not be elsewhere.
“We are not anticipating problems,” Roberts continued. “We can expect the supporters will behave very well. We’ve got the message out about our fans and everyone we’ve had meetings with seem fine and receptive. Nothing is leaping out as cause for concern.”
Roberts said Police Scotland would be one of the few other European forces to send officers to the US, thanks to funding from the Scottish government. Scottish policing efforts are expected to focused on the Boston area with the Tartan Army’s opening two fixtures scheduled for the Foxborough Stadium.
Some 40 officers were sent by the UKFPU to the Euro 2024 championship in Germany after a request from the organising committee was backed by government funding. A similar arrangement is also understood to have been in place during the World Cup in Qatar.
The UKFPU said it has been working to deepen the relationship between police and fans groups before the World Cup, with the Football Supporters’ Association to play a key role in delivering messages about safety and local laws. The Foreign Office has also advised all those expecting to travel to monitor their online travel advice and take out travel insurance.
Around 3,500 tickets have been sold for each group stage match to England fans registered with the FA’s travel club. On top of that there will be another 10,000-11,000 ticket holders who have purchased through the Fifa portal and declared themselves England supporters.
Finally there will be around 1,000 friends and family of the England team travelling to the games. FSA sources suggested that demand for a potential last-16 tie in Mexico City will exceed these numbers.