NCS4 GOLDEN EAGLE AWARD 2025
Accredit Solutions  

Q1. Name of Project: 
A League United: The NFL’s Game-Changing Leadership Approach to Efficient Game-Day Security with Accredit Solutions 

Q2. Name of Sports Venue(s):
NFL (All 32 clubs/30 stadiums and the NFL League Office)  

Q3: Project Start Date: 
Pilot Phase: 2023 
Full League-Wide Rollout: 2024/25 Season 

Q4. Project Completion Date: 
Ongoing 

Q5: Describe the project; specifically, what risk or security issue was your company hired to address?  

Access control and credentialing are critical components of modern sports security and operations. The NFL identified the need for a uniform approach in its clubs' credentialing processes, to ensure a clear and consistent approach league side,  providing centralized oversight at a league level, mitigating security risks for the clubs and league. With a unified system, the league achieved: 

• Control over Unauthorized Access & Credential Fraud – Weak identity verification could allow credential misuse and counterfeiting, enabling unauthorized individuals to infiltrate restricted areas, possibly putting lives at risk.  

• Insider Threats – The absence of robust authentication checks could allow unvetted personnel access to secure zones, potentially impacting player safety, live media broadcasts, and overall event security.  
• Operational Inefficiencies – Manual checks and fragmented credentialing may slow stadium entry. A central system enhanced security procedures, making real-time security enforcement and tracking possible.  With a centralized validation single source, accurately confirming who is in the stadium and their authorized locations is no longer a large task

To address these needs, the NFL partnered with Accredit Solutions to implement a centralized credentialing and biometric access control system, securing all 32 clubs and 30 venues under a single, technology-driven framework, ensuring only authorized individuals could gain access.  

This industry-leading solution eliminated credential fraud, enhanced real-time security enforcement, and set a global benchmark for secure credentialing in professional sports – ensuring a standardized, seamless experience across all clubs and events.  

Q6: Provide an overview of how you strategically approached this project/security issue. 

We were chosen to partner with the NFL to uniform the credentialing process as identified in the 2022/23 league-wide credentialing audit by Petrone Risk. We approached this not just as a secure credentialing solution for the NFL, but as a strategic blueprint for access control modernization. 

A six-club pilot phase was strategically implemented across the 2023/2024 season to gain stakeholder buy-in, validate the technology, and minimize resistance ahead of a full league-wide rollout. By demonstrating real-world success, the pilot phase streamlined adoption and ensured a seamless transition to mandatory use of the system at all NFL games and for all 32 clubs, across 30 stadiums, for the 2024/2025 season following its successful completion.  Accredit Solutions is the first technology ever to be mandated by the NFL’s League Security Office, an impressive 2,074,718 credential applications were processed league-wide - a substantial volume for a single platform, representing 552,501 unique individuals across 284 games during the 2024-25 season.  

Two Key Strategic Phases:

1) Pilot Phase (2023/24 – 6 Clubs, League Office, and Media Rights Holders)

• The Arizona Cardinals, Philadelphia Eagles, Denver Broncos, Cleveland Browns, Atlanta Falcons, and Las Vegas Raiders served as test sites for credentialing transformation. 

• Digitized Credential Processes – Transitioned from manual passes to secure, trackable credentials.

• Stakeholder Engagement – Included NFL Security, media rights holders (Paramount, NBC, Fox, Disney), vendors, and game-day assistants and oversight from Akmal Ali and his team at ALUMA. 
• Technology Integration - Deployed Wicket Biometric Scanning, Fortress, Alvarado, Axess, and SkiData.

• Mandatory Biometric Access Control Zones: Securing Field of Play, Locker Rooms, and Press Boxes. 

• Automated Credential Adjustments: Real-time security-based access modifications. 
• League-wide credentialing standard: Ensures standardized compliance and consistency across the NFL. 

Q7: What was your solution? What technologies, including brands, did you install to mitigate the security issue? How did the solution balance safety/security AND fan experience?  
Our solution deployed an integrated, enterprise credentialing ecosystem across all 32 clubs and 30 stadiums, creating a secure, efficient, and scalable access control infrastructure for the NFL. 

Key Technologies Deployed: 

Accredit Solutions Platform – A centralized credentialing and access control rules engine, managing application approvals, badge printing, access provisioning, and fraud detection. 

Wicket Biometric Authentication – Facial authentication for high-security, contactless access at restricted zones. 

Dynamic Wristbands – New and innovative technology featuring instantly activated, uniquely QR-coded wristbands securely linked to photo-verified credentials, eliminating pass-along fraud and ensuring rapid, frictionless entry. 

Automated Access Control and Security Alerts – Real-time monitoring can be used detect unusual access attempts or suspicious credential activity. 

Integrations – Full interoperability with Fortress, Alvarado, Axess, and SkiData, eliminating manual checks and enhancing security data visibility. 

Balancing Security & Fan Experience: 

Faster credential processing, reducing wait times for media, VIPs, and stadium personnel. 

Biometric-powered identity verification, ensuring secure, touchless authentication and eliminating manual checks. 

Instant digital ID validation, allowing security personnel to speedily verify credentials in real-time via the backend system, independent of physical passes. 

By automating access control, integrating biometric authentication, and streamlining credential management, Accredit Solutions significantly enhanced stadium security, improved fan experience, and reduced entry delays at credentialed and ticketed access points, creating faster, smoother and safer ingress for players, officials, media, and VIPs. 2025 will see the introduction of a universal NFL banned list; this technology will permanently prevent bad actors from accessing any NFL game, further enhancing fan experience, security, and operational safety league-wide. 

Q8: Describe how your solution has benefited your customer.  
The implementation of the Accredit Solutions credentialling platform has transformed security, efficiency, and operational control for the NFL. It enabled the NFL to implement league-wide credentialing process and provided data insights for the league, yet still allowing teams and stadiums to overlay their own unique club and game day requirements - all whilst meeting mandatory NFL policies. This balance ensures operational flexibility without compromising standardized security protocols across all stadiums. 

Unmatched Security Impact: rewriting the secure credentialing playbook: 

• Zero Credential Fraud: A dynamic, photo-linked identity platform eliminates impersonation risks, replacing error-prone visual checks with real-time, digital verification, significantly enhancing security confidence and reduced risks of unauthorized stadium access. 

• Live Security Oversight: Instant access tracking enables security teams to detect anomalies and prevent unauthorized entry in real time. 

• Biometric Authentication at Critical Zones: Wicket facial authentication technology ensures that only authorized personnel enter ultra-secure areas, such as the field of play, locker rooms, and press boxes keeping VIPs, players and press representatives safe and secure. 

Operational Efficiency Gains: 

• Faster credential processing: eliminating entry bottlenecks. 

• Automated security rule enforcement, removing the risk of human error in access decision-making. 

• Effortless compliance: with Accredit’s smart credentialing system ensuring all NFL-mandated and centralized security protocols are met. 

• Integration with third-party staffing vendors and their workforce systems ensures rapid issuance of linked passes and wristbands to thousands of workers on game days. 

Game-Day Optimization: 

• Faster, Frictionless Entry: Biometric verification removes access delays for officials, VIPs, media and workforce.  

• Technology-driven credentialing: Reduces errors and enables instant approvals. 

• Security Teams’ Focus on Real Threats: By automating verification, personnel can concentrate on actual security risks rather than manual credential checks. 

This league-wide transformation has positioned the NFL as a global leader in sports security, setting a new industry standard for access control and credentialing in professional sports. 

CASE STUDY 

A League United: The NFL’s Game-Changing Leadership Approach to Efficient Game-Day Security with Accredit Solutions 

Executive Summary 
Partnering with Accredit Solutions, the NFL implemented an ambitious centralized, biometric-driven credentialing platform across all 32 clubs and 30 stadiums. This transformation reduced credentialing time, integrated seamlessly with existing stadium systems, and enabled real-time security monitoring - setting a new global standard for sports security. 

The Solution 
Accredit Solutions developed a centralized, fully digital credentialing platform featuring biometric authentication and real-time access control integrations. The implementation occurred strategically in two phases: 

Pilot Phase (2023/24 Season – 6 Clubs, NFL League Office, Media Rights Holders)   
Pilot clubs (Arizona Cardinals, Philadelphia Eagles, Denver Broncos, Cleveland Browns, Atlanta Falcons, Las Vegas Raiders) tested and refined the solution. 

• Digitized Credentials: Replaced generic passes with encrypted, trackable digital credentials.   

• Stakeholder Collaboration: Engaged NFL security, media rights holders (Paramount, NBC, Fox, Disney), owners, vendors, and game-day assistants.   

• Systems Integration: Deployed seamlessly with Wicket Biometric Authentication, Fortress, Alvarado, Axess, and SkiData. 

Phase 2: Full League-Wide Rollout (2024/25 Season) 
After a successful pilot, the NFL mandated the rollout league-wide: 

• Biometric Access Control: Wicket facial authentication at critical zones (Field of Play, Locker Rooms, Press Boxes).   

• Automated Access Updates: Real-time credential adjustments based on security intelligence.   

• Compliance Enforcement: Centralized credentialing processes adopted across all clubs. 

The Results 

Key Performance Metrics (2024/25): 

• Total Individuals Processed: 552,501 unique individuals processed throughout the 2024-25 season. 
• Credential Applications: Resulting in 2,074,718 total applications processed league-wide. 
• Badges and Wristbands: generated 729,893 secure badges and wristbands, nearly all printed in-house by the 32 clubs. 
• Biometric Integration: 295,559 biometric scans successfully completed across all stadiums during the season. 
• Access Control Tracking: 4,456,142 access control decisions made across the season. 

 Security Impact   

• Pathway to Zero Credential Fraud: Secure, photo-linked credentials directly tied to the backend system prevent impersonation.   
• Real-Time Monitoring: Immediate detection and response to suspicious activity.   
• Secure Critical Areas: Biometric verification ensures only vetted personnel gain entry. 

Operational Efficiency   

• Credentialing streamlined: reducing ingress times 

• Automated Security Decisions: Minimizing human error in access decisions.   
• Seamless Venue Integration: Consistent security enforcement across every stadium. 

Seamless Game-Day Experience   

• Faster Stadium Entry: Biometric authentication reduces delays for personnel, VIPs, and media.   

• Automated Verification: Instant credential approvals improve operational flow.   

• Improved Security Confidence: Security teams focus on genuine threats, not manual verification. 

 
Final Takeaway: A Blueprint for Sports Security – the movement starts here… 

The NFL and Accredit Solutions delivered a first-of-its-kind biometric and digital credentialing transformation, establishing a global benchmark for sports security. By proactively addressing critical vulnerabilities, the NFL has set the standard for modern, secure, and operationally efficient, access control integrated stadium credentialing. 

This isn’t just an NFL and Accredit Solutions success: it's a playbook for the future of global sports security. 

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