Toronto police to escort World Cup teams with motorcades

Toronto police are implementing motorcade escorts for the nine international teams participating in the World Cup, as well as for "certain officials" visiting the city. The decision comes amid safety concerns, particularly regarding large crowds that may gather around team vehicles.

The escorts will be provided by a collaboration of officers from Toronto police, Peel Regional Police, York Regional Police, Ontario Provincial Police, and the RCMP. The goal is to ensure the safe and efficient movement of teams while minimizing disruption to road users.

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We are more prepared for not only who we are escorting, which is the team buses, but also for the crowds that we anticipate will be coming to the matches.

"We are more prepared for not only who we are escorting, which is the team buses, but also for the crowds that we anticipate will be coming to the matches," a Toronto police spokesperson stated in a May video. The spokesperson added that the escort's purpose is to move vehicles "safely and efficiently... with the least amount of impact to our road users."

The City of Toronto has deferred questions about whether these escorts are mandatory under host city agreements to FIFA, which did not respond to inquiries before publication. This contrasts with an incident in the spring where Vancouver police reportedly declined a full motorcade request for FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

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The idea behind an escort is to safely and efficiently move a vehicle or vehicles from one point to another in that safe and efficient manner with the least amount of impact to our road users.