Next phase of pilot project begins: digital reporting requirement for football hooligans
The digital reporting requirement pilot is now entering its next phase. From early April, the municipalities of Leeuwarden, Rotterdam and Utrecht can begin using the Mini ID – a small portable device – to impose area bans with a digital reporting requirement on disruptive football supporters. Individuals subject to area bans with a digital reporting requirement must use the Mini ID to register their fingerprint at specified times during matches. This verifies whether they are inside or outside the prohibited area and their compliance with the reporting requirement.
Minister Van Weel:
‘The Mini ID can help ensure that hooligans subject to area bans are kept more effectively out of the prohibited area. If someone subject to a reporting requirement is found in a prohibited area when they should not be there, this constitutes a violation and can lead to prosecution by the Public Prosecution Service. The digital reporting requirement helps prevent troublemakers from disrupting public order again. I hope this next phase of the pilot succeeds so we can implement this more widely as soon as possible.’
About the digital reporting requirement pilot
Disruptive football supporters can be given an area ban if they misbehave around matches. A digital reporting requirement can be linked to this to monitor their compliance with the area ban. Late last year, the digital reporting requirement pilot began in the municipalities of Rotterdam, Utrecht and Leeuwarden with test users trialling a small portable device: the Mini ID. This initial phase evaluated usability, reliability, security, technology and user privacy.
Physical and digital reporting requirement
While a digital reporting requirement has been legally possible for some time, it was unenforceable in practice due to technological limitations. A physical reporting requirement – where individuals must present themselves at a set location – is rarely imposed. It is regarded as a severe measure that can be disproportionate to the violation, tying up police capacity as officers must be physically present to receive and register those subject to the reporting requirement. The digital reporting requirement removes these drawbacks.
Originally published at https://www.government.nl/latest/news/2025/03/31/next-phase-of-pilot-project-begins-digital-reporting-requirement-for-football-hooligans
