Menpora Can Only Surrender That FIFA 'Order' Cannot Stop Raisa's Concert At SUGBK

JAKARTA - Singer Raisa is scheduled to hold a concert at the Bung Karno Main Stadium (SUGBK), Jakarta, on February 25. In fact, FIFA has issued a statement on SUGBK which states that the U-20 World Cup venue cannot be used for activities outside of football.

The Minister of Youth and Sports (Menpora) Zainudin Amali was reluctant to comment on this matter. He seemed to surrender to the use of SUGBK as the venue for the concert.

"Don't ask me. Go ahead with that," said the Menpora at the Kemenpora Building, Jakarta, as reported by Antara, Monday, January 30.

Zainudin Amali also did not want to give any message to the organizers of the concert, including regarding SUGBK treatment. "There was no message," said Menpora.

Previously, the use of SUGBK for non-football activities was controversial. On 30 November 2022, FIFA sent a letter to PSSI not allowing non-football activities to be carried out in the stadiums used for the 2023 U-20 World Cup, including SUGBK.

FIFA confirmed this in a statement via e-mail delivered directly to the FIFA Men's Tournament Manager, Christian Schmolzer.

Apart from Raisa, SUGBK will also be the venue for a concert by the South Korean music group Blackpink on March 11-12 2023. Tickets for the event have even been sold to the public.

Meanwhile, the 2023 U-20 World Cup will be held in Indonesia from 20 May-11 June 2023. The tournament will take place in six stadiums, including SUGBK.

Until now, only 12 countries have confirmed to compete in the competition namely Indonesia (host), Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras, United States, Fiji, New Zealand, England, France, Israel, Italy, and Slovakia.