Brazil to put 10,000-strong 'elite force' to boost security during 2014 FIFA World Cup

The Brazil government will reportedly put a 10, 000-strong elite security force on standby during the upcoming Rio World Cup this year in a bid to prevent a repeat of the disorder that marred last year's Confederations Cup.

Protesters have vowed to target the tournament this summer, when an estimated 600 000 foreign fans and about three million Brazilians will fill the country, and organisers are also mindful of football-related violence of the kind which shocked Brazil last month.

According to Sport24, a military police colonel will co-ordinate the 10, 000 special force, which comprises military and civil police, firefighters and logistics experts and a justice ministry spokesman said that they will support security in the 12 venue cities and have clearly defined functions to back up the police.

The ministry further said that the contingency force, which has been dubbed a 'shock troop', will have undergone more than two years of training by the time of the opening match of the World Cup in Sao Paulo when the five-times champions Brazil play Croatia.

The ministry also said that a precise security plan is being drawn up and the blueprint should be finalized by the end of this month and the government has warned it will not tolerate protests like those in June last year that saw more than a million people demonstrating in several cities against corruption.

FIFA hailed the contingency as a 'very comprehensive security concept', the report added.