Rita Odafe
FIFA has stripped Indonesia of hosting the men’s Under-20 World Cup due to political turmoil surrounding Israel’s participation. This came after a meeting between FIFA president Gianni Infantino and Indonesian soccer federation president Erick Thohir in Doha. Israel qualified for the tournament in June, and the country’s presence in the scheduled draw in Bali caused political opposition in Indonesia, a Muslim-majority nation with no formal diplomatic relations with Israel. As a result, the draw was postponed on Sunday.
The Jakarta Post reported that Bali governor Wayan Koster wrote to the Ministry of Youth and Sports, urging them to “adopt a policy forbidding the Israeli team from competing in Bali” due to the ongoing conflict with Palestine. This letter was also addressed to the Indonesian FA, who said that the governor’s refusal was seen as cancelling the organising guarantee issued by the Bali provincial government.
A protest was held in Jakarta, where protesters marched and waved Indonesian and Palestinian flags and demanded that Israel should not be allowed to participate in the tournament. Indonesian FA Executive Committee member Arya Sinulingga expressed his concern that losing hosting rights could ‘isolate Indonesian football from the world’. He also mentioned how potential economic losses could reach ‘trillions of rupiah’. The FA is now planning to coordinate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Youth and Sports to find a solution.
