When thousands of matches are played during Gothia Cup, a well-functioning organization is about much more than what happens on the field. As part of 'Celebrate the Game,' each team has an assigned Team Steward – an adult who follows their team and is responsible for communicating with their audience during the match. This person wears a purple vest and serves as a clear contact between the audience, officials, and referees. Their mission is to contribute to a positive match environment and to assist if situations arise around the field.

– On each field, we have a Team Steward. They are connected to the team's audience and help create a positive match climate, says Martin Laanemets, competition manager at Gothia Cup.

The Team Steward is not to coach the team or influence the game. Instead, their role is to ensure that the audience remains behind the correct side of the field, behaves respectfully, and that there is an adult contact person available if the referee or officials need support. Gothia Cup recommends assigning this role to a parent or another adult who follows the team, but who is not one of the team's active leaders.

For Ulf Larsson, who works as a Team Steward during the tournament, the task is simple at its core.

– I help ensure that the audience behaves and that the young players can play football without worrying about what is happening around the field. They should feel safe, he says.

By each team taking responsibility for their own audience, a collective effort for safety and Fair Play is created. At the same time, the referees can focus entirely on the match, while the Team Steward contributes to ensuring that everything around it functions in a calm and respectful manner. This is an important part of Gothia Cup's work to create a positive experience for players, leaders, audience, and officials during the world's largest youth tournament.

Read more about Celebrate the Planet at:https://gothiacup.se/en/celebrate-the-planet