26 years later, Jonas Eriksson is back officiating at the Gothia Cup

Top referee Jonas Eriksson served as the referee ambassador for the Gothia Cup 2024; he officiated a final in the Gothia Special Olympics Trophy and supported the referees at the Gothia Cup.

Jonas Eriksson has officiated 340 matches in the Allsvenskan, 47 in the Superettan, and over 140 international matches for FIFA and UEFA. He has refereed in both World Cup and European Championship finals and also officiated the Europa League final in 2016. In 2010, he was ranked as one of Europe’s top ten referees.

This year, Jonas Eriksson joined Gothia Cup as a referee ambassador. In addition to this, he officiated a final in the Gothia Special Olympics Trophy, which is a collaboration between Gothia Cup, Special Olympics Europe/Eurasia, Special Olympics Sweden, and Kim Källström.
– It’s incredibly fun to be here. I haven’t refereed football in six years, so this is the first time in a long while – it was great, Jonas said.

He also found it particularly honourable to referee a match in the Gothia Special Olympics Trophy, which offers young people with intellectual disabilities an opportunity to participate in the tournament.
– It’s an incredibly wonderful tournament. It’s fantastic for the boys and girls who have travelled from all over the world to join this football celebration. I’m proud to be a part of it, he explained.

The last time Jonas Eriksson refereed at Gothia Cup was in 1998, during his Step 5 training.
– I’m 26 years older, have 26 years of experience, and a thousand matches behind me – that’s probably the main difference, said Jonas, who had the honour of refereeing the final between Uzbekistan and Lithuania in the Gothia Special Olympics Trophy.

As a referee ambassador, Jonas attended the traditional referees’ gathering the day before the tournament began and was present by the pitches to support the referees. Alongside other referees, observers, and instructors, he participated in supporting and developing the tournament’s referees, which was appreciated by the tournament’s 700 referees in total.