DUESSELDORF : Security officials are bracing for two very different threats when more than a million people stream into 12 German cities in less than two months for the World Cup: hooliganism and terrorism.

Of the two, officials think violent fans are the more certain problem, with cities such as Berlin, Munich, and Frankfurt a short train or budget airline hop away for veteran troublemakers. European hooligans missed the last World Cup in 2002 because it was far away in South Korea and Japan.

Terrorism remains the more distant — if more frightening — worry during the tournament, which begins on June 9 and concludes with the final in Berlin's 1936 Olympic Stadium on July 9.

As they did for the 2004 Athens Olympics, AWACS early warning planes from NATO will be patrolling Germany's skies, and soldiers will be standing by with equipment that can detect radiation or chemical weapons.

German police and security officials have said no concrete threats of terror have been found, but that hasn't stopped precautions such as drills to evacuate crowds at World Cup stadiums.

Gagg downplays threat

Walter Gagg, the director of stadium security for FIFA, downplayed the terror threat during a recent conference on World Cup security.

``Soccer has never — really never — been the target sought out by terrorist attacks at this level. We are convinced we won't have any terrorist actions against the soccer World Cup,'' he said.

Ticket holders will undergo strict identity checks, meaning people deemed a terror threat or who have a hooligan past will have difficulty getting into stadiums.

A big concern, however, is the large number of people arriving without tickets just to soak up the soccer atmosphere by watching on large screens in stadiums and amphitheaters. Hundreds of thousands of viewers are expected to watch the televised matches outdoors — along the Main River in Frankfurt and on Berlin's Potsdamer Platz, among others.

At Euro 2000, co-hosted by Belgium and the Netherlands, 945 Britons were arrested for soccer violence. The most severe rioting was in Charleroi and Brussels that led to UEFA threatening England with expulsion from the tournament.

At the 1998 World Cup, hosted by France, German hooligans beat a French policeman nearly to death while England fans rioted in Marseille. At the 1988 European Championship in Germany, Dutch, German and English fans tangled in fierce melees.

Gunter A. Pilz, of the University of Hanover, said that this time hooligans from Eastern European countries such as Poland or Ukraine may pose a greater threat, in part because they have so far eluded the careful intelligence gathering carried out by police in Britain and Germany.

Travel bans

``It's not like in Germany or England where the hooligans are well known. The police are not so well-informed so you can't be sure about stopping them,'' he said. Germany intends to counter that by setting up border checkpoints, usually not used for people entering from other EU countries but available for security purposes.

British police are imposing travel bans on known hooligans for the tournament, and Britain, the Netherlands and Germany have long exchanged dossiers on troublemakers. About 400 police and security officers from other World Cup countries will help German officers patrol stadiums, airports and train stations.

Britain will send 45 uniformed officers, while Germany will send police to help monitor ferry ports, airports and train stations in Britain, too.

Howard Safir, the former commissioner of the New York Police Department and now chairman of GVI Security Solutions, said an effective and quick police presence would help improve crowd control and deter violence.

``It's important that those who get involved with the hooliganism know that there is a price to pay and to have response teams. If you have an incident you can deal with it very quickly and very effectively,'' he said.

The fear of terror also looms, given the worldwide media exposure.

Several officials at a two-day security conference in Berlin of experts from the 32 countries playing in soccer's showcase event praised Germany's preparations.

``I had the impression they were very well prepared and have covered every threat imaginable,'' said Min Jang of the terrorism office of South Korea.

Video surveillance

The number of German police involved is unknown because the nine states with World Cup stadiums coordinate their own security and they haven't released exact numbers.

About 7,000 soldiers will provide support, but are forbidden from taking on police roles under the country's constitution.

Germany's Interior Ministry has asked each state to set up video surveillance, check backpacks and fence off the areas adjacent to the stadiums.

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