There’s no better cover than an international sports event to spy on competitors and scoop up data. The intel gathering starts with the athletes’ visa applications and kicks into high gear with airport facial recognition and cell phone surveillance - and that’s just the legal stuff. We dig into spying and scandal in the sporting world, including one audacious accusation involving American spy scouts.
The World Cup of spies
There’s no better cover than an international sports event to spy on competitors, track fans, and snoop on data. The background checks start with the athletes’ visa applications and kick into high gear with airport facial recognition and cell phone surveillance - and that’s just the legal surveillance. These five scandals shook the sporting world, including one audacious accusation involving American spy scouts.
England, France, and Switzerland are warning World Cup 2022 fans to bring spare ‘burner phones’ to Qatar to download compulsory smartphone apps that may spy on them and steal their data. Ideally, travelers should always carry a blank smartphone or reset an old one but what happens if that’s not possible? SPYSCAPE asked the pros how to travel like a secret agent, protect electronics, and secure your comms.
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Garry Rogers was part of Greater Manchester Police's undercover Omega Unit in 1990 when Italy hosted the World Cup. Hundreds of English football hooligans were about to descend on Rimini and Garry’s job was to take down the thugs from the inside so he got straight to work. Garry shaved his head, bought an earring, and prepared to live on his wits. Here’s his incredible behind-the-scenes story.
In an incredible Ocean’s Eleven-style caper, the 1966 World Cup trophy was stolen in a robbery that left Scotland Yard scratching its head. The only lead involved a man in his 30s spotted just before the Cup vanished. There were whispers that the Jules Rimet trophy was melted into gold bars but a dog named ‘Pickles’ found it stashed in a London park. A suspect was arrested but are the real gangsters still at large?
Whether you want to perfect the Ronaldo chop, the Messi body feint, or bend it like Beckham, you’ll need to put in the hours. Many footballers rely on virtual reality sessions for cognitive training and ice baths to reduce core temperatures and speed up recovery. Here are nine ways you too can train like a World Cup footballer.
Get a FREE copy of a hot thriller, spy story, or crime novel every Monday with a special Story Mondays ticket to SPYSCAPE HQ. Next Monday it's Our Man in Tokyo by Steve Kemper - a gripping, behind-the-scenes account of the personalities and contending forces in Tokyo during the volatile decade that led to World War II, as seen through the eyes of the American ambassador who attempted to stop the slide to war. Don't miss your FREE copy when you experience SPYSCAPE HQ next Monday.
Plenty of athletes are suspected of working on the sidelines as secret agents including Pyotr Sokolov, the goalkeeper for the Russian Empire national football team who also worked for British intelligence. Athletes and spies actually share a lot in common: both need strength, stamina, and courage to blow past their limits. So suit up. The Great Game is about to begin.
