Ajit Karn
Wednesday, FIFA announced that Indonesia would no longer host this year’s under-20 World Cup due to political turmoil over Israel’s participation. FIFA stated in a statement that the decision was made “due to the current circumstances” without providing specifics. “A new host will be announced as soon as possible, while the tournament dates remain unchanged,” the statement continued.
The draw for the 24-team tournament commencing on May 20 was scheduled to take place in Bali on Friday, but FIFA canceled the event without providing a reason or new date last week. Indonesia and Israel do not have formal diplomatic relations, and in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation, support for the Palestinian cause is strong, fueling local opposition to hosting the Israeli team.
In addition to Bali’s governor appealing for Israel’s exclusion from the tournament, approximately one hundred conservative Muslim protesters marched in Jakarta this month to protest Israel’s participation. Indonesian officials stated earlier this week that failure to host the tournament could result in sanctions that prevent them from participating in other international football competitions, including World Cup and Asian Cup qualifiers.
They stated that losing the tournament could result in economic losses of trillions of rupiah (1 trillion rupiah = $66 mn).
Additional sanctions possible
FIFA added that sanctions against the Indonesian football association (PSSI) “may also be decided at a later time.”
“After delivering a letter from (Indonesia) President Jokowi and speaking at length with FIFA President Gianni Infantino, we must accept FIFA’s decision to cancel the event we were both looking forward to,” said Erick Thohir, the head of the Indonesian Football Association, after the Doha talks.
“Indonesia is a member of FIFA, so for international football matters, we must adhere to FIFA’s rules,” he said. “FIFA believes that the current situation cannot continue, so we must submit.”
“We must be resolute. I ask all football fans to keep their heads held high in the face of this difficult decision by FIFA.” “Now is the time to prove to FIFA that we will work harder to transform football, towards clean football and accomplishments.”
Since 1979, Indonesia has not participated in the tournament. As hosts, they had automatically qualified for the tournament, but will now relinquish that spot to the newly selected hosts. The Southeast Asian archipelago nation was scheduled to host its first significant football tournament.
A stadium rampage in East Java last October claimed the lives of 135 people, making it one of the worst calamities in the history of the sport.
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“FIFA wishes to emphasize that, despite this decision, it remains committed to actively assisting the PSSI, in close cooperation with the government and with its support, in the process of transforming Indonesian football following the tragedy that occurred in October 2022,”
Israel qualified for the tournament for the first time after reaching the final of the European Under-19 Championship and finishing second to England last year.
