Under 21 World Cup Canceled, Menpora: We Respect FIFA's Decision

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Youth and Sports (Kemenpora) respects FIFA's decision to postpone the U-20 World Cup, which was originally planned to be held in 2021, postponed until 2023.

Youth and Sports Minister Zainudin Amali said the government understands FIFA's reasons for the spread of COVID-19 which is still evenly distributed in various countries in the world, it is still too difficult to organize large sports events.

"The government also highly respects FIFA because before the decision was taken, it had first considered various aspects and really appreciated the seriousness of the Indonesian government and PSSI as LOC which had taken various preparatory steps for the successful implementation of the FIFA U-20 World Cup 2021," said Zainudin in an official statement. , reported by Antara, Friday, December 25.

"For that I would like to thank PSSI for working with the government (central and local) in preparation so far," he added.

Zainudin admitted that the government had actually tried to convince FIFA about the seriousness of Indonesia to host the 2021 U-20 World Cup.

This seriousness was shown in a letter sent to the FIFA President in early December. The letter also explained about the government's efforts in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.

The letter also mentioned President Joko Widodo's support through the Presidential Decree and Presidential Instruction, as well as optimizing national team preparations and renovating a number of match venues.

FIFA on Thursday, December 24 announced the cancellation of the 2021 U-20 World Cup in Indonesia and the 2021 U-17 World Cup in Peru.

Even so, the two countries will continue to host the 2023 edition.

For the success of holding the U-20 World Cup, the Indonesian government has carried out renovations and construction of stadium infrastructure throughout 2020, despite the threat of COVID-19. Meanwhile, the stadium and field renovation budget taken from the APBN costs more than Rp400 billion.

This amount is only for the renovation of two stadiums, namely the Manahan Stadium in Solo and Kapten I Wayan Dipta in Gianyar. Meanwhile, the rest is the responsibility of each local government.

The U-20 World Cup, which was originally held on May 20-June 20, 2021, was to be held in six venues in six cities. The six cities, namely Gelora Sriwijaya Stadium (Palembang), Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium (Jakarta), Si Jalak Harupat Stadium (Bandung), Manahan Stadium (Solo), Gelora Bung Tomo Stadium (Surabaya) and Kapten I Wayan Dipta Stadium (Gianyar) ).