Jokowi: Israel's Participation Has Nothing To Do With Foreign Political Consistency Against Palestine

President Joko Widodo (Photo: Capture Youtube Screen @SecretariatPresident)

JAKARTA - President Joko Widodo opened his voice against the polemic of refusing to participate in the Israeli national team in the 2023 U-20 World Cup which was held in Indonesia. Jokowi guarantees that Israel's participation in this year's U-20 World Cup has nothing to do with the consistency of Indonesia's foreign political position towards Palestine. Indonesia firmly supports Palestine for independence. "In terms of the U-20 World Cup, we agree with the Palestinian Ambassador to Indonesia that FIFA has rules that its members must obey. So, do not mix sports affairs and political affairs," Jokowi said at a press conference at the Merdeka Palace, Tuesday, March 28. Jokowi explained that Indonesia will host the U-20 world cup through a fairly long bidding or selection process, thus bringing up the top three candidates, namely Brazil, Indonesia, and Peru. "At that time, all parties fought hard together so that Indonesia could host the U-20 world cup," he said. In October 2019, FIFA officially appointed Indonesia to host the U-20 World Cup. According to Jokowi, this is an honor for the Indonesian people because they can win the trust of organizing sports events with the most fans worldwide. Moreover, when Indonesia declared its readiness to host until it was elected, it was not yet known that the Israeli national team was participating. "When appointed to host, we do not yet know who will be the participating team because it is still in the process of qualifying and certainty that the Israeli national team will pass the U-20 World Cup selection, we will only know in July 2022," he explained. Now, FIFA is aware of the rejection of the Israeli national team's participation in the U-20 World Cup. FIFA has also canceled its draw in Bali on March 31. In this condition, Jokowi emphasized that the government and PSSI are still trying to find the best solution. "For that, I have sent the General Chairperson of PSSI, Mr. Erick Thohir to meet with the FIFA team to find the best solution, to find the best solution," he added.