In this article you will...

• Understand what to do if there is a floodlight failure in one of your games.
• Considerations you should make when deciding if a game should continue.

If the floodlights go out during the match immediately stop the game and make your way over to the home technical area. Remember to make a mental note of where the ball was when the game was stopped, so you know how to restart the game.

Consult with the home team and ask them if the process for the lights coming back on. At many grounds the lights may not be switch back on immediately and must be given time to cool down before reheating. If it's not possible for the lights to come back on immediately, take the player off the field of play and back to the changing rooms.

If the floodlights come back on remember to allow suitable amounts of time for both teams and your team to warm up before the game commences.

What considerations should I make when deciding if we should wait for the lights to return?

• Ask the home team if there is damage to the lights and how long they expect the lights to be off.
• Is there a curfew at the home teams stadium, if so what time do the lights need to be off. Will there be enough time to complete the remainder of the game?
• Is this the first floodlight delay, you've had in this game
• Is the failure caused by something inside the stadium or is it a power cut in the local area. If it's a cut within the local area ask the home club to contact their power supplier.
• Can the safety of the players, spectators and match officials be maintained at the ground without power?

What do I do if it is a partial floodlight failure?

You should only consider the game continuing with a partial floodlight failure if you're confident that this failure does not endanger the safety of the players or match officials. You should also consider if it will impact the ability of any paying spectators to watch the fixture.

What if the floodlights go out a second time?

Begin by following the same process as the first time the floodlights went out. Consider how long it'll take for the lights to come back on and the home team to resolve the issue, it may not be considered practical to have a further long delay to the game especially in midweek matches.