November was a prolific month in the celebration of world-class sporting events in Latin American football. Uruguay hosted the women’s and men’s Libertadores finals, as well as the Sudamericana Cup final.
During all the matches, Herta’s video surveillance and access control system was used to analyse the entry of non-authorised people through facial recognition. The security operation was classified as “impeccable” by the Ministry of the Interior as no incidents or detainments occurred during the matches.
In 2017 the Centenario Stadium in Uruguay adopted the facial recognition system that has become a fundamental tool in the fight against violence, dramatically reducing criminal acts in its facilities. Herta’s facial analysis system is also installed at Gran Parque Central and Campeón del Siglo stadiums to combat security issues and increase safety at sporting events.
The matches played at Centenario were the final of the Men’s Libertadores Cup between Flamengo and Palmeiras and the final of the Sudamericana Cup between Atlético Paranaense and Red Bull Bragantino. The finalists were all Brazilian teams, so the risk of altercations between known supporters was very high. On the other hand, in Gran Parque Central, the final of the Women’s Libertadores Cup was played between Corinthians (Brazil) and Independiente de Santa Fe (Colombia).
Once again, Uruguay has proven to be a global example of using face analysis technology to tackle a serious problem in the world of sports. Violence in stadiums may already be a thing of the past thanks to the use of facial recognition and the firm commitment of Uruguayan institutions in its application in sporting events of any scale.