Three British police officers to patrol 10,000 England fans at World Cup

Only three British police officers will be following more than 10,000 England fans at the World Cup this summer.

The White House Task Force in charge of the tournament has essentially told the UK it does not need assistance. With funding restrictions in the UK, the British police delegation heading out next month is dramatically smaller than previous tournaments.

Local authorities for Qatar 2022 and the last Euros in Germany helped subsidise extra officers, with between 30 and 40 on hand from the UK to support local police. A total of just three heading to a foreign major tournament is the smallest group in memory.

Chief Constable Mark Roberts, the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for football, expressed some disappointment at budget restraints for his officers, but said he was not concerned about England fans causing trouble in the US.

“It’s unfortunately where we’re at funding wise,” he explained. “We are very experienced. We’ve got exceptional links with the Football Supporters’ Association (FSA) and we’ll make sure we deploy to occasions where we see the best use of our resource.”

There has been no intelligence to suggest England fans are likely to cause trouble this summer, but supporters have been warned that policing around them will differ at each game. In Texas, for instance, it is illegal to drink while sitting inside a vehicle. Dallas has also banned vaping in public indoor areas and parks.

The England squad will be based in Kansas City, Missouri, for the tournament with a pre-World Cup training camp in Florida where they face New Zealand and Costa Rica. Their three World Cup group games are against Croatia in Dallas on June 17, Ghana in Boston on June 23 and Panama in New Jersey on June 27.

There are about 3,500 England fans travelling with the official allocation, but officer’s estimate there will be 10,000 or more trying to buy tickets via other routes. Around 1,000 will travel to each game with the Football Association’s allocation, which will include families of players.

There were no police incidents or arrests of British nationals in Qatar during England and Wales’s World Cup campaigns. However, there were 531 football-related incidents in the UK during the last World Cup, and the behaviour of fans during matches that finish in the early hours in the UK is a significant concern for officers this summer.-The Telegraph

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