Barça vs Manchester City suffered from bad weather in Orlando. A thunderstorm near the stadium caused an initial delay of thirty minutes.
Hansi Flick’s Barcelona’s opening game in the United States against Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City was marred by a thunderstorm in Orlando, which caused a lightning strike to lead the organisers to announce a delay of at least half the start of the match.
This is what Camping World Stadium looks like in Orlando, Florida, ahead of the friendly between Barcelona and Manchester City, on their 2024 summer tour of the United States. Jordi Blanco ESPN Digital
The suspension was finally extended for almost an hour and a half, since the match was scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m. but did not begin until 8:20 p.m. And it was always in heavy rain.
According to the law in this area of Florida, if lightning strikes within an eight-mile radius of an area where a public event is to be held, the event must be suspended for half an hour or its start delayed by half an hour.
Following the first lightning strike, which prompted the organisers to announce that fans were to leave the stands, the start of the match was automatically delayed, leaving the match up in the air pending the development of the weather.
If in 2023 Barça’s first match in California was already suspended due to widespread gastroenteritis in the Barça squad, in 2024 it was the inclement weather that affected it.
The match finally started at 8:20 p.m. under heavy rain that did not spoil the game but continued throughout the first half, although there was no risk of a new suspension.
