Britain Organizing Intelligence Agency to Combat Soccer Violence

Britain is opening a national intelligence unit to keep tabs on violence-prone soccer fans.

“The football hooligans have a hierarchy, a communications system among the leaders, and while it’s not too sophisticated, they have their own intelligence system,” said Adrian Appleby, head of the new agency.

The National Football Intelligence Unit, launched Monday by Home Secretary Douglas Hurd with a $480,000 yearly budget, will combat hooliganism at home and abroad.

Hurd said last week’s violence in Sweden, where 206 people were arrested, including 100 English fans, “reinforced the need for such a unit as this.”

The national team of six intelligence officers, which begins work Oct. 1, will compile dossiers on known soccer hooligans, watch for national trends and coordinate information among the 43 police departments in England and Wales.