Some 580 foreign police officers will be deployed in Germany for the European Football Championship, which begins on Friday.
The German Ministry of the Interior announced on Thursday that 350 officers from abroad will be supporting the Federal Police in the fight against crime and hooligans while a further 230 will be deployed at the International Police Cooperation Center (IPCC) in Neuss in western Germany.
The officers come from all the countries participating in the tournament. They will be deployed at railway stations, on trains, at airports and at borders. The main focus is on "de-escalation and communication," according to the ministry statement.
"We are arming ourselves against all conceivable dangers: from Islamist terror to violent offenders and hooligans," said German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser.
"The Federal Police are facing the largest deployment in their history."
