Uncompromising Lightning and Safety at the 2025 Gothia Cup

The second day of the Gothia Cup 2025, Tuesday (15/7/2025), at Vallhamra Field, Savedalen, Gothenburg, Sweden, did not proceed normally. The match schedule was delayed by up to 45 minutes. This situation was very undesirable for Sweden, which highly values punctuality.

The match between the LKG BRI Indonesia team and the Prep Schools District, which was originally scheduled to start at 15:30 local time, was ultimately postponed to 16:15 WIB. This situation forced the "Laskar Kera Sakti" squad to wait for approximately 2.5 hours to compete.

They first witnessed three matches before competing. There was no information regarding the delay before LKG BRI Indonesia participated in the match at the sports field of the school complex.

The 25-minute first half was uneventful. The best players in the 2024-2025 Kompas U-14 League Powered by BRI played well, scoring five goals in the first half.

However, midway through the first half, signs of bad weather were already visible. Black skies could be seen from the north side of the pitch.

Lightning flashed five times during the first half, but no thunder was heard.

When the referee blew the final whistle signaling the end of the first half, a drizzle accompanied by strong winds began to be felt. About two minutes after the match was paused, the referee approached the technical area of both teams. He stated that the match had to be postponed due to bad weather.

"For the sake of safety, the second round match has been postponed. I cannot yet confirm how long the delay will be. I hope the weather improves soon," said the referee while visiting the technical zone of LKG BRI Indonesia.

After that, the organizing committee of the Gothia Cup 2025 in Vallhamra provided further explanations regarding the postponement of the second half of the match. It also guided the LKG BRI Indonesia team to enter the changing room in the sports complex to take shelter from the rain.

"Rain is not an issue, but lightning is the reason we have temporarily halted the match. Lightning is approaching here," said the match official, indicating the lightning strikes using a Swedish-language application on his phone.

With heavy rain lasting for one hour, the Laskar Kera Sakti squad took a break in the changing room of Vallhamra Field. The temperature was 21 degrees Celsius with a wind speed of 17 kilometers per hour, prompting the players to wear their gloves.

The situation was utilized by the players to engage in conversation and relieve tension. LKG BRI Indonesia coach Tb Wahyudiansyah conveyed several notes to some of his players from the first half of the match.

Tommy, an Indonesian diaspora who witnessed the match, expressed that he was initially puzzled by the unusually delayed match schedule. In fact, rain and thunder had also postponed the match's execution during the afternoon, causing the schedule of several matches to be pushed back.

"The intensity of lightning is very high in the summer. Although there are already lightning rods and similar devices in public spaces, safety is always the top priority here," said Tommy.

For about an hour, heavy rain enveloped the competition complex accompanied by the sound of thunder. After the rain began to subside, the referee along with the Field Manager of the Gothia Cup 2025, Andreas, conducted an inspection of the field.

They observed the weather application, then tested the ball trajectory and the water accumulation level on the surface of the synthetic grass field. From the inspection results, the field remains in a safe condition for the players' safety during the match.

"Please wait another 10 minutes until the rain completely subsides. The field is still in good condition. We just need to wait for the thunder to completely disappear before the match can resume," said Andreas.

The second half of the match resumed after a 10-minute interval following Andreas's notification to the LKG BRI Indonesia team. Before the kickoff of the second half, the referee once again allowed players from both teams to warm up for five minutes.

The second half could proceed without any obstacles. The rain had completely subsided. Thunder and dark skies no longer enveloped Vallhamra Field during the second half.

Indeed, important lessons about player safety were presented in Sweden and the 2025 Gothia Cup.