The privacy of some fans in England was at stake for fans in England this year in the Premier League. Manchester City was set to trial facial-recognition software in collaboration with Blink Identity, but the club said Tuesday it would not bring the technology to Etihad Stadium. Brondby had already introduced the technology and City was set to follow before a wave of backlash. The Danish club brought it in at the start of the season this year to help identify fans who have been banned from attending matches.
Etihad Stadium holds 55,000 people, and the club as well as the fans had noticed that the queue can get long on matchdays, often forcing fans to miss the kickoff and opening minutes as fans flock to get into the game. As we all know, games only last 90 minutes (plus some stoppage time), and even missing 30 seconds of a match can mean you miss the most important moment.
How Would Man City Facial Recognition Work?
For the system to function correctly, fans would have needed to upload a selfie of some sort to the club. Then upon entry, the system would be able to recognize which supporters have truly purchased tickets and then allow them entry into the stadium.
Below you can get a look at the software's introduction at the International Identity Tech Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada.
In the beginning stages, there would’ve been a single lane at the stadium that used a traffic light system. Once the fan’s face has been scanned, a green light will be shown if it detects the fan is one with a ticket. Yellow will halt the fan trying to enter, as they have not been recognized or purchased a ticket.
I’m all for enhancing the gameday experience, but this seemed a bit intrusive and personal. Given the fact that you are already searched before entering any stadium and the technology offers only a marginal improvement for speed of which fans get in, it seemed like this wasn’t really the right move for Manchester City, at least until it actually enhances the fan experience or there is more clarity around how the data is used and where it is limited to once the company has it.
Add this to the fact that according to reports, there are ongoing investigations into the abusive use of facial recognition around the U.K., from Shopping centers to property developers to museums and conference centers, it seems as if City has made the right choice in canceling its trial run of the facial recognition software in facilitating the gate entry of games.
