Premier League backs Met Police facial recognition programme

The Metropolitan Police has received £3.42 million from the Premier League to fund trials of live facial recognition at top-flight matches in London.

The funding forms part of the up to £10m policing and technology investment announced by the Premier League in December last year. Documents published by the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime show the £3.42m, distributed via Cheshire Constabulary, was approved specifically for testing the technology on Premier League matchdays.

Intelligence-led deployments

The Met has previously used live facial recognition around football matches, but deployments under the new programme will be determined by operational intelligence on a match-by-match basis. No decisions have yet been made on which matches will be selected for the forthcoming campaign, for which the funding is available.

The technology was first used for the September 24, 2023 match between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur and was deployed again for both north London derby fixtures in the 2025-26 season. The Premier League said in its December announcement the investment strand is:

"Piloting live intelligence-led facial recognition in London to identify and prevent serious offenders attending matches, building on the experience of deployments that have already taken place at some major events in the capital. The aim is to learn from the projects to establish if they enable safer and more effective delivery of public events for the public as well as sharing best practice which could benefit sport and other major events nationwide."

Safeguards and scope

The technology can be used to identify people including those subject to football banning orders and individuals wanted for violence against women and girls or other offences. Any deployment must have a specific operational justification and be authorised by a Met officer of at least superintendent rank, with its use assessed as lawful and proportionate for the individual match.

Supporters entering an area where live facial recognition is operating will be warned by signage ahead of the cameras, with deployments signposted rather than conducted covertly. Images of people who are scanned but do not match anybody on the police watchlist are deleted immediately.

The Met’s existing live facial recognition policy will also govern how watchlists are compiled for football deployments, meaning the Premier League-funded programme will not operate under a separate set of criteria.

Sources with knowledge of the plans, who spoke on condition of anonymity, say relevant Premier League clubs and the Football Supporters’ Association have already been consulted and will continue to be engaged as the programme progresses. The Met is permitted to accept the funding under Section 93 of the Police Act 1996, which allows policing bodies to receive gifts, loans and donations, including commercial sponsorship, in connection with their functions.