In September, IFK Värnamo co-organized a large-scale disaster drill together with Region Jönköping, Värnamo Municipality, the police, and the fire department. The scenario for the exercise was a collapsed, overcrowded stand during an Allsvenskan match at Finnvedsvallen.

“It was very educational. We believe this is something both we and other clubs should do regularly,” said Lisa Lidén, club manager at IFK Värnamo.

Over 600 people participated in the exercise, named Gisela, with around 60 playing the role of injured or deceased, including representatives from Swedish Professional Football Leagues, which supported the event with its resources. At 9:00 AM, the alarm was triggered at Finnvedsvallen during a simulated Allsvenskan match, prompting the entire region to activate crisis mode. IFK Värnamo initiated its crisis plan, which focused primarily on saving lives and evacuating the stadium safely. Swedish Professional Football Leagues was alerted via the match delegate, who in turn activated its own crisis plan. In such situations, their plan is secondary to the club’s crisis plan, as the primary goal is to support the affected club.

“Swedish Professional Football Leagues became involved when the match delegate reported the incident. We activated our crisis group immediately and went into emergency mode. Relevant staff at Swedish Professional Football Leagues were informed via designated channels, and we notified the club that we were at their disposal, while also informing the Swedish Football Association according to the crisis plan. In this case, our communications manager happened to be geographically close to Värnamo, so we sent him to the stadium. We monitored the situation and were ready to assist IFK Värnamo as needed,” said Per Eliasson, head of security at Swedish Professional Football Leagues.

Evacuating the stadium and caring for the injured took about 90 minutes for IFK Värnamo’s staff and volunteers. At a meeting held during the exercise, the referee and the organizers quickly decided that the match would not resume due to the extent of the incident. All injured individuals who could not make it to the hospital on their own were assisted by ambulance personnel. The exercise was then essentially over for IFK Värnamo, while it continued for the healthcare teams.

“In a real situation, things would have been very different. The external pressure would have been enormous. Media from all over the world would likely have contacted us, along with many other stakeholders, and we would have faced a much bigger challenge than we did today. The exercise required extensive coordination among all involved, especially regarding who says what and when. In any case, I am very pleased that the league could support us with the communications manager on-site in Värnamo, and we learned a lot about how to work together with the region, municipality, and police if something like this happens again,” added Lisa Lidén.

“We deliberately chose not to inform too many people in the club so that they wouldn’t be overly prepared. After all, it’s an exercise meant for learning. There are always things to improve, but overall, this went beyond expectations. I’m proud of our organization for handling this difficult situation in such an exemplary way.”

After the exercise at Finnvedsvallen, the league and the club discussed how they would handle communication in a real incident, both through their own channels and in dealing with the media. Given that Värnamo is a small community, the club preferred that the league handle external communications.

“There’s an emotional aspect to consider. Värnamo is a small town, so the likelihood that someone on staff would know one of the victims is high. Therefore, it’s valuable for us that the league, with a bit more distance, could step in and handle that part for us,” summarized Lisa Lidén.

The exercise concluded in the afternoon with a debriefing at Värnamo Hospital, where IFK Värnamo was praised by the emergency leader for its performance during the drill.

Swedish Professional Football Leagues was also satisfied with the exercise, particularly with how IFK Värnamo handled it and that their own crisis management processes worked as intended.

“I want to extend a big thank you to everyone involved. IFK Värnamo acted exemplarily in a very difficult situation, and for us at the league, communication with the match delegate was vital for our ability to monitor and support the club. For us at SEF, it was largely about ensuring that our internal and external communication procedures functioned properly and that the communication with the club was effective. It was also important to see that our role as a supporting body was successful,” said Per Eliasson, concluding.

“It’s important to emphasize that in such an exercise, the club holds operational responsibility, while Swedish Professional Football Leagues plays a supporting role. These kinds of exercises are highly relevant, and it’s essential that all our clubs periodically review and, if necessary, revise their crisis plans.”

The remaining 31 clubs in Allsvenskan and Superettan will learn the lessons from the exercise during meetings and via updates in the fall.