A nonsense World. This is how the situation experienced by the media, volunteers and stadium workers is summarized. MetLife of New Jersey before the grand final of the World Cup between Spain and Argentina. An unacceptable situation where no one took responsibility and which ended with altercations between the journalists themselves.
The FIFA had communicated that journalists should go to the stadium hours in advance to anticipate the long queues and traffic cuts that would be activated three hours before the game. The presence of important authorities at the final multiplied the security presence. The president of the United States, donald trump; the president of the government, Pedro Sanchez; the Spanish Royal family with King Felipe VI at the head… Nobody wanted to miss the big match.
He FBI and the secret service could be seen at the access doors, but the problem was much greater and began several hundred meters from the door, where thousands of workers gathered to access the stadium. A long queue, lasting more than two hours, broke. And there began the hostilities. People who sneaked in and others who did not allow it got into a fight due to the total and absolute absence of coordination, organization or security. Not a fence, not a single file, not a FIFA member… Nobody coordinated the chaos and misgovernment while the countdown to the final was already activated.
A wrong alternative
Far from being solved, the problems multiplied when a group of volunteers appeared out of nowhere and sent part of those waiting to another door, door three, located almost ten minutes walk from where we were waiting and ensuring that the stadium could be accessed there to speed up the main queue. Lie. Hundreds of journalists, dancers and workers from all walks of life walked there and, upon arriving, they reported that through that door could not be accessed either. The problem? Upon returning to the first line, others had gained positions and were not willing to give them up, so Insults and shoves were exchanged between various groups.
Few staff, high demand
The reality of chaos is easily explained with numbers. There was only six security arches and three scanners for backpacks and bags in that access. In fact, in the security arches that did not have a bag scanner (three), they made you empty your backpack, take out the corresponding computer or electronic device, turn it on… A procedure that greatly slowed down access. An inexplicable disorganization for the largest sporting event on the planet.
