Vendela Högqvist about being a referee in a Gothia Cup final: "A great honor"

Vendela Högqvist has already refereed a final in the Gothia Cup. She has big dreams with her refereeing.

Soon-to-be 20-year-old Vendela Högqvist refereed the G17E final in the Gothia Cup this summer. In the future, she dreams of getting even bigger assignments.
– My goal is to be a referee in both Damallsvenskan and internationally, she says.

Vendela Högqvist originally comes from Askersund, but has been living in Örebro for about a year now.
– On weekdays, I study the first semester of the subject teacher program with a focus on gymnasium in the subjects mathematics and sports and health, she says.
And when she's not studying, she likes to referee football matches. She became interested early on.
– At the age of eleven, I had the opportunity to attend a youth referee training education as my uncle is a referee instructor and I was immediately hooked. At first I was an association referee, but in 2019 I chose to go step one to become a district referee.

Vendela Högqvist is currently refereeing division 1 for ladies and division 5 for men as a head referee.
– I'm sometimes also an assistant referee in Elitettan (the Swedish second division for women) and in division 3 for men. The best thing about being a football referee is the community that exists between the referees, but also the opportunity to develop and use my leadership.
In Gothia Cup 2022, she was given the fine task of refereeing the G17E final between American team NorCal Premier PDP and German side Bayer Leverkusen at Gamla Ullevi.
– It was a great honor to be a referee in a final in the Gothia Cup. It was very cool. We were an all-female team that refereed several matches together during the week and both teams in the final were incredibly skilled, which made it extra fun.

Two memories from this year's Gothia Cup are particularly strong.
– The first was, of course, the final at Gamla Ullevi. The other memory was the premiere match in the Boys 17 Elite category between Right to Dream and IFK Norrköping, which was played at a full SKF Arena. It truly was a memory for life. The best thing about refereeing in the Gothia Cup is the opportunity to referee teams from all over the world while also getting the opportunity to meet and work with new referees, says the 19-year-old.
She has high hopes of having a good career as a referee.
– My goal is to be a referee in both Damallsvenskan and internationally in the future. Then it would also be fun to see how high I can get up on the men's side.
Are you aiming to be in the Gothia Cup next year as well?
– Of course, I want to be refereeing in the Gothia Cup also next year, says Vendela Högqvist happily.