Training Workshop in Sport Security for Cadres of Costa Rica Host of FIFA U-20 World Cup

Doha, April 20 (QNA) - The United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT), the Inter-American Committee on Terrorism (CICTE) affiliated with the Organization of American States (OAS), and the International Centre for Sport Security (ICSS), an independent and non-profit organization based in Doha, have jointly organized a training workshop in the field of sports security, in the framework of the United Nations "Global Program on the Security of Major Sporting Events, and Promotion of Sport and its Values as a Tool to Prevent Violent Extremism". A specialized group from the Local Organizing Committee for the FIFA U-20 World Cup - FIFA 2022, which is organized by Costa Rica and members of the Local Organizing Committee for the Central American Games - El Salvador 2022 participated in the training workshop. The United Nations launched the "Global Program on the Security of Major Sporting Events, and Promotion of Sport and its Values as a Tool to Prevent Violent Extremism" in June 2019 in partnership of the International Centre for Sport Security, the project's technical implementer, the United Nations Alliance of Civilization (UNAOC), and United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI). The official social media platforms of the UN bodies participating in the project announced the training workshop which was held with a wide participation of the cadres of the Local Organizing Committee of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, which was supposed to be co-organized by Costa Rica and Panama in 2020 but was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Panama then withdrew from the organization and FIFA decided to cancel the 2020 version and assign the right to host the 2022 edition to Costa Rica. The training workshop highlighted the tools and elements of securing major sporting events in the framework of Costa Rica's preparations to organize the world championship. Specialized cadres from the Local Organizing Committee for the Central American Games, which will be held in El Salvador in 2022, participated in the workshop. The training included elements and requirements of sports safety and security in terms of planning, cooperation, information exchange, communication and the best practices. The training workshop comes within the general context of the UN "Global Program on the Security of Major Sporting Events, and Promotion of Sport and its Values as a Tool to Prevent Violent Extremism", a project launched by the United Nations with the participation of three international organizations, in addition to the International Center for Sports Security, which also assumes the role of technical implementer for this global project. (QNA)