The Trinidad and Tobago football delegation and its fans can expect to feel fully secured during its stay in Germany for the 2006 World Cup as the Local Organising Committee revealed during the current Team’s workshop in Dusseldorf that there will be heavy security measured in place in June.
Among those from the T&T team contingent attending the Security meetings with the FIFA and the LOC on Tuesday was the team’s official security officer Brigadier John Sandy as well as FIFA assigned security officer Gunther Grath who will both be stationed with the team at its team base at the Landhaus Wachtelhof in Rotenburg and each of its match venue hotel in Nuremburg, Kaiserslautern and Dortmund.
According to the LOC, “Overall security and personal protection assume the highest priority at an international tournament such as the 2006 FIFA World Cup.”
With FIFA’s approval, the 2006 FIFA World Cup LOC will work with the appropriate state security authorities to implement the security measures required to provide the best protection for players, referees, delegations, FIFA partners, media representatives and fans. All of this will be in place inside and outside of match venues, training sites, hotels and media centres and other related events including arrivals and departures by car, rail and air.
For Trinidad and Tobago, as a qualified member association, the LOC will take care of security at the team hotels, the travel to and from Germany during the games and training sessions and for travel within the host nation. Police escort will also be provided whenever the “Soca Warriors” travel as a group anywhere in the country which has 18 international airports and a population of just over 82 million, the most for any nation in Europe.
Grath, who is German, met the T&T contingent including head coach Leo Beenhakker for the first time on Sunday and he will work alongside Sandy while there are expected to be other officers on site at the team base hotel during the team’s stay there.
“It is a distinct honour for me to work with the National team of Trinidad and Tobago,” Grath told TTFF Media. “It is my biggest aim to ensure that everything is done and in place to ensure your team has no problems at all and that everything is in order for the stay here and at all the training sessions and trips to the match venues and back. You will find that there will be a lot of people following your team and they will all be trying to get close and we will just ensure that there is order and that the team is always comfortable.”
While not in total control of the fans’ safety, he added that the T&T faithful and those of the Warrior Nation Supporters group can expect to be safe while in Germany.
Fans of the “Soca Warriors” like all the others, can also expect to be searched along with the bags for prohibited objects at the outer perimeter. Tickets will be checked visually and will be electronically controlled at the inner perimeter and will again be checked visually at the stairs leading to the stands in all stadiums. The LOC will also ensure that strict and thorough control measures will be taken at all access roads, entrances and seating area for the fans in advance of matches and after the stadiums have been opened.
Beenhakker meantime, was also among several of the other head coaches as they attended the technical study group and interpretations of the laws of the game meetings at the Hilton in Dusseldorf.