UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin visits EURO 2024 International Police Cooperation Centre

UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin visited the UEFA EURO 2024 International Police Cooperation Centre (IPCC) in the western German city of Neuss on Tuesday.

The IPCC hosts several hundred members of security forces, including UEFA representatives and national and international police – all dedicated to making UEFA EURO 2024 as safe as possible for everybody involved.

The centre also acts as an information hub where multiple stakeholders can easily share information and data around the clock, ensuring a timely, effective response to any potential issues across the tournament’s ten host cities and stadiums.

"The IPCC is unbelievably impressive," Mr Čeferin said. "I can see that everyone is working closely together. It's not an easy job - we know that - but when I see the spirit here, I'm optimistic and I'm glad that I came to see the centre.

"The cooperation has been perfect – big respect to the German police and to everyone here. Without security there's no tournament. This is hugely important for us and we hope and believe everything will be fine."

Aleksander Čeferin during a tour of the IPCCGetty Images

Oliver Strudthoff, head of the IPCC, added: "This cooperation helps to massively increase our chances of delivering against the same objective: ensure the best possible safety, security and service for fans, players and everyone involved in UEFA EURO 2024.

"We know it is impossible to eliminate all the risks in a world that nowadays contains many challenges and threats, but by working together, the international police forces, the German police and non-police forces from the states and at federal level and UEFA, we can be sure that we did everything possible.

Last year, UEFA signed a cooperation protocol with the European Group of Policing Football and National Football Information Point experts (NFIP), a network comprised of leading governmental and football experts responsible for policing European and international football matches.

The agreement tightened a bond that focuses on ensuring everybody attending football matches across Europe can do so in a friendly and welcoming environment.

Officers at work in the IPCCGetty Images

"The partnership between the NFIP network and UEFA is vital not only for the safety and security of EURO 2024 matches, but also for those of the UEFA club competitions throughout the season," explained Adrian Dinca, NFIP Network chairman.

"In the case of EURO 2024, it is important to have a fast and effective information exchange through the IPCC that is beneficial for both sides and will contribute to delivering a safe and welcoming environment for all fans attending the matches."

EURO 2024 is the second time UEFA has been invited to be part of an IPCC, having previously deployed liaison officers to a similar facility for EURO 2020 in The Hague, Netherlands.