Bayern Munich’s home ground of the Allianz Arena

Millions of supporters avidly follow football clubs across Europe, from Manchester United to Bayern Munich. Now ESA is partnering with UEFA to use space to help ensure the safety of football fans and the sustainability of the sport – as well as exploring other ways in which space can help promote football.

Almost 75,000 people converge on Manchester United’s Old Trafford stadium when it is at capacity, while a similar number of fans follow the action live at Bayern Munich’s home ground of the Allianz Arena.

Keeping crowds safe is a long-standing challenge for civil authorities aided by football clubs.

Satellites can help monitor crowds from space and identify when crowds are building up at bottlenecks in the flow of people around football stadiums. When relayed to police forces, this information can enable commanding officers to take informed decisions. Similarly telecommunications satellites can support overloaded terrestrial communications networks when crowds gather to watch matches and navigation satellites can track people in real time.