Colombia digs security leave nothing to chance

Article posted by Coliseum, March 19^th, 2025

Image: Estadio Pascual Guerrero, Johannes Bud, CC BY-SA 4.0

The Colombian professional football club América de Cali fans are happy to return to the fold of the Pascual Guerrero Olympic Stadium in Cali, Colombia, with the venue operators according highest priority to the safety quotient of the spectators. Unruly fans ruled the roost in the venue last year leading to the venue operating at reduced capacity.

‘cali.gov.co’ stated that the above facility rolled out biometric technology for fans entering the venue to attend a Categoría Primera A game between América and Deportivo Pereira held on March 1^st.

Biometric stadium entry has been introduced following incidents of fan vandalism last year at the Pascual Guerrero Olympic Stadium during América de Cali’s match against their peer team Atlético Nacional (who play in Categoría Primera A) on December 14^th.

Three-year stadium bans were handed out to the fans involved in the hooliganism during the December 14th fixture between the top-flights.

So severe was the fan violence that the stadium barred fans’ entry for five matches.

The América de Cali S. A., best known as the América de Cali, or América, is a Colombian professional football club based in Cali, Colombia. It competes in the Categoría Primera A, the top-flight league of Colombian football.

The 37,899-capacity Pascual Guerrero Olympic Stadium is a football stadium in Cali, Colombia. The stadium also stages athletics, concerts and Rugby Sevens (a fast-paced, short-form version of rugby union played with seven players in each team in two seven-minute halves on a full-sized rugby pitch). It serves as the home ground of the América.

‘cali.gov.co’ further stated that for the March 1^st matchup between América and Deportivo Pereira only the Western and Eastern Stands of the Pascual Guerrero Olympic Stadium reopened for the fans and though the capacity of the stadium stands at 37,000-plus but only 6,302 people were allowed for the match due to the ongoing restrictions and each and every individual had to scan their face to get ingress to the arena.

The biometric technology rollout initiative was taken by the Mayor of Cali Alejandro Eder and the technical support was provided by Colombia’s National Civic Registry and the same was delivered to the Cali Police Department. The América de Cali also provided steadfast support to the entire exercise. ‘The Scarlets’ supporters are happy that they can once again enjoy the game of football in a safe and secure environment.

The facial scans and the strict security checks which the spectators were subjected to gave them the feeling that they were returning to a safe environ with biometric technology ruling out the entry of unruly elements.

The fans were all praise for the security measures adopted and said that there is no room for violence in the game of football which people come to watch along with their families.

Said Jaime Mejía, a fan who had come to watch the match, “Win or lose everything should be taken in the right spirit.”

Another fan Francisco Forero was also very happy and satisfied over the security measures adopted and stated, “Football is a game which people come to enjoy with their families. We cannot allow the stadiums to become hotbeds of violence and there is no place for fans who behave in the most irresponsible and uncouth manner.”

More than 800 police personnel were deployed to protect the fans inside and outside of the stadium.

Twenty-three people were denied access to the venue as registration checks revealed their ID cards were blocked.

The Pascual Guerrero Olympic Stadium authorities left no stone unturned to ensure that the match was held in a peaceful manner and the fans felt very secure inside the venue and going by the stringent security steps initiated the fans rest assured that there will be no repeat of the December 14^th incident.

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