Police in Shenzhen City of south China's Guangdong Province have deployed 24-hour drone patrols around the Shenzhen Sports Center to enhance public safety control during the 2026 Chinese Super League season.
The Shenzhen Xinpengcheng Football Club has officially made the Shenzhen Sports Center its home ground for the 2026 Chinese Super League season. Football matches have attracted more than 10,000 fans per match, leading to intense crowd density and severe traffic congestion, which places immense pressure on security.
Amid the excitement of tens of thousands, the calmest "guards" aren't in the stands, but stationed over 100 meters above, in the sky.
Before a match began, police officer Wang Yiyuan and two teammates would be already deployed with well-defined roles: one would pilot the drones, another would keep an eye on the spectrogram to monitor the drone activity, and the third would coordinate with other ground police via his walkie-talkie.
Just before the end of the second half, a sudden alert for crowd flow popped up at the south square, where a large number of spectators had begun to gather as they leave the site. As this area served as the only passage for leaving the stadium, the crowd pressure could easily lead to a stampede.
From the initial alert to the loudspeaker broadcast and then to the arrival of police reenforcements on the scene, it took Wang and his colleagues just three minutes to complete the communication, and the crowds began to disperse.
Police deploy 24-hour drone patrols during football matches in south China's Shenzhen
Police deploy 24-hour drone patrols during football matches in south China's Shenzhen
