FIFA’s decision to cancel the U-20 World Cup in Indonesia shows that national football has not improved after the Kanjuruhan Stadium tragedy.
By
Kompas Team
·4 minutes read
BIRO PERS SEKRETARIAT PRESIDEN
President Joko Widodo when giving a statement regarding the U-20 World Cup on Tuesday, 28 March 2023, at the Merdeka Palace, Jakarta..
JAKARTA, KOMPAS – The failure to host the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup should serve as an opportunity for all stakeholders in Indonesian sports policy to improve. FIFA’s decision to cancel the youth tournament in Indonesia shows that national football has not improved after the Kanjuruhan Stadium tragedy.
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo also felt the sadness and disappointment expressed by millions of football fans across the country, including the players of the U-20 team who have been training to compete in this prestigious tournament. Even so, President Jokowi said this failure should not lead to wasting energy by pointing fingers.
“Let this serve as a valuable lesson for us all, for Indonesian football. I have asked PSSI [the Football Association of Indonesia] chairman Erick Thohir to continue making efforts to ensure that Indonesian football is not subject to sanctions and to have opportunities to host other events,” said President Jokowi in his press statement regarding the U-20 World Cup at Sultan Hasanuddin air force base in Maros regency, South Sulawesi, on Thursday (30/3/2023).
Coordinating Human Development and Culture Minister Muhadjir Effendy concurred, asking Indonesians not to wallow in disappointment. He believes that FIFA made the best decision for Indonesia and the U-20 World Cup.
“Do not be sad and disappointed for too long, because there is still a lot of work and programs aimed at improving our football performance in the future. In the near future, we have the SEA [Southeast Asian] Games and we also have to prepare a football team for that,” said Muhadjir, who is currently serving as acting youth and sports minister.
In an official statement on Wednesday (29/3), FIFA stated that Indonesia’s hosting rights for the U-20 World Cup were stripped due to current circumstances. Amid potential sanctions against the PSSI, FIFA ensured that it would continue to assist Indonesia in football transformations after the Kanjuruhan Stadium tragedy that resulted in 135 fatalities.
ADRYAN YOGA PARAMADWYA
Deputy Chairman of PSSI Zainudin Amali poses for a photo with Indonesian U-20 national team players at the Sultan Hotel, Jakarta, Thursday (30/3/2023). Amali apologized to all Indonesian U-20 national team players for revoking Indonesia's status as host of the 2023 U-20 World Cup.
Thorough maintenance
Erick also took lessons from his failure to maintain Indonesia’s status as host. Now that he no longer has to prepare for the U-20 World Cup, which was one of Erick’s main programs as PSSI chairman, the State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Minister can focus on carrying out FIFA’s orders to make overall improvements in Indonesian football.
“It is time we prove to FIFA [that we are] working harder to transform football. This is for the sake of achieving clean and accomplished Indonesian football,” said Erick.
According to football culture observer Fajar Junaedi, FIFA’s assessment of Indonesia’s circumstances reflects bad football governance. According to their official statement, said Fajar, FIFA indicated that they had not seen evidence of Indonesia’s commitment to reforming itself following the Kanjuruhan Stadium tragedy.
“Until now, the PSSI has not been able to undergo any transformations. This is shown through unprofessional management of competitions, such as a high-tension match in League 1 that was held without spectators. How could we host the U-20 World Cup if we can’t even manage domestic tournaments?” he said.
Online, football fans as well as U-20 Indonesian players continue to express their disappointment. Their anger has been directed toward the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) as the two regional heads who opposed the presence of the Israeli team were PDI-P members: Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo and Bali Governor I Wayan Koster.
PDI-P Secretary-General Hasto Kristiyanto emphasized that his party did not oppose the U-20 World Cup, only Israel’s participation. “Our stance is the same as FIFA when they removed Russia from the World Cup playoffs [in 2022],” said Hasto. (WKM/INA/BOW/NIA/SAN)
