We have just seen the conclusion of the 2024 World Cup in Qatar, which featured what many believe was the greatest final in World Cup history, with Argentina defeating France by penalty kicks after reaching a 3-3 tie through extra time.

By all accounts, the 28-day, 64-game tournament ran smoothly. According to FIFA, the governing body of international soccer, an estimated 89,900 fans attended the finals, and more than 2 million paper tickets were sold.

One of the biggest logistical challenges is the actual ticketing process. Counterfeit tickets are always a concern, but today’s tickets are more than just a way to get into the stadium. The use of RFID can enhance the ticketing experience and offer other features.

This is where HID Global’s expertise comes in. HID Global, a subsidiary of ASSA ABLOY, is a leader in the field of RFID. HID has been the smart ticket producer for the last three World Cups, which are held every four years, and produced more than 2 million paper tickets for this year’s tournament.

Cesare Paciello, HID’s VP of events and mobility solutions for Identification Technologies and head of the project, noted that the World Cup tickets are far more than just an entry pass.

“HID added unique RAIN RFID to the exit gates to improve attendees’ experience and facilitate emergency evacuations,” Paciello noted. “The company delivered approximately 2 million paper tickets manufactured with unique security features, including an RFID inlay.”

Paciello pointed out that RFID transmits the unique identity of a ticket and ticket holder via radio waves, which eliminates the need for the reader to scan each ticket.

“The RFID scanners do not need a direct line of sight like traditional barcode scanners,” Paciello added. “Ticket validation is frictionless, prevents counterfeiting and dramatically speeds up admissions in high-volume events such as World Cup matches. HID provided a personalized solution for the secure tickets, including self-service kiosks for media seat assignment tickets, more than 200 cabinets for tickets instant issuing with special printers for on-the-go ticket personalization, thousands of handheld scanners, and on-site support during each match.”

Paciello observed that RFID-based smart tickets are ideal as an anti-counterfeiting measure.

“HID RFID secure tickets provide exclusive technology and safety as they emit the unique identity of a ticket and ticket holder via radio waves,” Paciello said. “These tickets are made of three layers – top, middle, and bottom layer. The top layer, which consists of thermal paper, is used for variable data and thermal personalization, including UV ink printing in two colors for security reasons. This is in addition to a customized 2D hologram and micro-text that are embedded in the ticket.

“The middle layer consists of the RFID inlay,” he added. “RFID data is more complicated to replicate than barcode data. Also, personal data can be encrypted in the chip that makes counterfeiting practically impossible. The third layer is security paper, similar to the paper used for bank notes production. Security paper includes physical objects that are mixed up into the paper pulp during the paper production process. This is visible only under UV lamp and provides a highly secured layer to the ticket.”

The RFID tickets can be quickly scanned, which makes getting through the gates much easier.

“The RFID tickets can be scanned very easily and very quickly by simply tapping the ticket on the access control handheld readers, while optical scanning of barcode /QR code is slower and its performance may be impacted by environmental operating conditions (e.g. direct sunlight, dirt, etc),” said Paciello. “This unique feature provides frictionless ticket validation and dramatically speeds up admissions in high-volume events such as World Cup matches.”

HID has provided unique RFID technology to FIFA for the past three events, and the HF RFID tickets have helped to prevent counterfeiting, provided frictionless ticket validation experience and controlled admissions. Of course, the technology has become more sophisticated over the last three events.

“The latest RFID capabilities for this World Cup is the fully integrated access control platform that reads credentials with customized features,” Paciello noted. “These personalization solutions include secure tickets, self-service kiosks for media seat assignment tickets, cabinets for tickets instant issuing with special printers for on-the-go ticket customization, thousands of handheld scanners and on-site support during each match.”

Overall, Paciello reported that the feedback HID received about the tickets has been excellent.

“We have received wonderful feedback regarding the tickets,” added Paciello. “We have been producing these RFID tickets for three consecutive events for FIFA World Cup. HID has delivered approximately 2 million paper tickets at the 2022 World Cup with access to real-time data and reporting that helps security officials and event organizers to remotely monitor and manage everything from the number of attendees at each entry and exit point to media credentialing and crowd control.”