The 2017 Champions League final in Cardiff will see police trial the use facial recognition on fans, the British government has announced in a statement online.

Faces will be scanned "in and around the principality stadium and Cardiff central train station" on June 3 as part of the contract, which will cost £177,000.

Faces can then be matched against "500,000 custody images stored within the Force's Niche Record Management system."

South Wales Police said in a statement to Motherboard: "South Wales Police has secured funding from the Home Office to develop automated facial recognition technology for policing.

"The UEFA Champions League finals in Cardiff give us a unique opportunity to test and prove the concept of this technology in a live operational environment, which will hopefully prove the benefits and the application of such technology across policing."

The BBC reports that a fan having their face scanned will not be a condition of entry to the stadium.