Qviding FIF - Valhalla IP

Qviding FIF

Valhalla IP

Valhallagatan 6

412 51 Göteborg

Sweden

Qviding FIF Website

Qviding FIF Facebook

Ground Number: 1317
Sunday 2nd June 2024

Qviding FIF 1-0 Hittarps IK

Division 2 Vasta Gotalund

QVIDING FIF HISTORY

Qviding FIF were established in October 1987 following a merger of BK Qviding & Fräntorps IF. The club played at Torpavallen in the Vidkarr district of Gothenburg up until 2008 before moving to their present home of Valhalla IP. This is also shared by IFK Gothenburg Women & Goteborgs FF. The stadium was originally built in 1964 and is situated close the river Mölndalsån and Burgårdsparken of the town. It is named after the Valhalla (Old Norse Valhöll, "Hall of the Slain") is Odin's hall in Norse mythology. The capacity of the stadium is 4,000, with 1,200 seated. Valhalla IP had an artificial pitch added in October 2006. On October 19, 2008, during a football match between Örgryte IS and FC Väsby United, after one minute of play a railing in the stands collapsed when fans celebrated a goal scored by Marcus Allbäck. Up to forty spectators fell down on the terrace a few suffered minor injuries and one spectator was taken to hospital. It also hosted some Sweden national football team games.

The club was in the 4th tier at the time of the merger. In 1993 they won promotion as runners-up from Division 3 Nordvästra Götaland to Division 2 Västra Götaland. They finished as runners-up three times here before winning promotion as champions to the Superettan in 2005, For the next six seasons, they became a bit of a yoyo club between the divisions with a best finish of 10th in 2008. After the final relegation from the Superettan in 2011, they spent several mid-table seasons in the third-tier Division 1 Södra. Financial issues saw the team relegated two levels in 2017 to the 5th tier Division 3 Nordvästra Götaland. They won that in 2018 and then the Division 2 Västra Götaland in 2020 to return to Division 1 Södra but they have since been relegated back to the 4th tier.

MY VISIT

This game was only found by chance when looing through the options on Furbology and the nearby fixtures feature. I originally was thinking I would have be satisfied with just the one game but potentially, I could see three, a fact I only discovered on the Wednesday before. Orgryte IS was the first game I confirmed and bought a ticket for and so it would have to be something near there. Qviding IF fitted the bill almost perfectly, kicking off at 5PM. Although Futbology quoted 0 miles between the two grounds, it actually turned out to be a 20-minute walk from my 3 PM game. Still, it would be madness to go all that way and miss out on a new ground for the sake of missing the first ten minutes. Then, on the Wednesday before the game, I noticed that there was another team, Mossens BK playing at 7PM. Whereas the Danish side  Fremad Valby had got back to me very quickly, I was still waiting for a response from the three Swedish sides I had planned on my trip - Heleneholms, Ariana and Qviding. I was seeking information on admission prices and souvenirs.

Nevertheless, I was still going to attempt to visit them. But this ground had me in a quandary. I could still see one or both games. But I still needed to check in at my hotel and I wouldn't mind an evening meal and drink. I decided to message Mossens BK and see what came of it. Nothing was the answer and so I left it until the day of the game to decide. From my game at Orgryte, it was a pleasant 18 minute walk to the Valhalla IP. After much deliberation, I decided that I'd probably only do the one game, though I did later get the urge to round things up to 175 games for the season. On the flip side, I'd started to wilt and feel tired in the afternoon sun but that soon disappeared once I got to the second game. Entry was 100SEK and my first programme of the weekend was included in the ticket price. The ground was being well used today. As well as the games I'd spotted, there was an Orgryte women's game at 1pm possibly one at 3pm too. When I saw my hotel was 45 minutes walk away though, with not much shaved off by using public transport, I decided to go back and check-in. I had considered doing it between games but opted to come straight here from Orgryte.

Both teams were down the lower end of the table, Qviding in 9th and Hittarps rock bottom in 14th. Qviding had been in decent form recently, winning their last game 5-0 at Kallared SK. Hittarps had not won in eight league games but they'd drawn 3-3 with Jonsereds last time out. I got to the game 11 minutes in, just as Yonaten Yosef gave the hosts the lead. It was a game of not many chances, but it flowed well. There were no further goals and so, that brought the curtain down on my 2023/24 season.

I walked back to my hotel with it taking 45 minutes. I was there by 7.40 and got checked in. I was given a nice upgrade to a river view and the room was probably the nicest I'd had on this trip and had the novelty of being on a boat. With me being neither hungry, not there being much in the way of bars I fancied visiting, I just stayed in my room and chilled whilst I caught on my blogs. I reflected on a season that encompassed 174 games which was a little less than I'd have liked. The very wet weather and excessive amount of teams not bothering to complete the fixtures had been frustrating. One nice aspect was seeing games in ten different countries over the course of the season is something I am pleased with and something I will look to continue next season.

THE GROUND

VALHALLA IP is an excellent venue with a capacity of 4,000. The seated stand is of a 1,700 capacity and has an interesting design, as is the terrace opposite, both have a curved design. There's not much behind either goal but it does have a scoreboard with a rare feature of having letters on it to display the scores from other games. Something that was seen in the UK in the 1970s. There are lots of nice touches. There are basic food and drink facilities and rarely, a programme if you go to Qviding IF. It has lots of parking and there are a few shops within walking distance.