Kaleidoscope 2023: Rejection Of The Israeli National Team In The Aftermath Of Indonesia's Failure To Host The U-20 World Cup

"The Funeral Action of 1 Million Black Bands" of the CentennialZ Community in the Senayan area, Jakarta, Friday (31/3/2023) for the failure of Indonesia to host the 2023 U-20 World Cup. (Betweens Reviyanto/rwa)

JAKARTA Football lovers in Indonesia are making up after the U-20 World Cup was canceled in the country. Cancellations caused by the rejection of the Israeli team are said to be political.

Precisely on March 29, 2023, the World Football Federation (FIFA) revoked Indonesia's host rights. Although FIFA did not explicitly mention their reasons, it is strongly suspected that the cause was a massive protest against Israel's participation, driven by PDIP through two of its cadres, Ganjar Pranowo and I Wayan Koster.

The comments column for the social media accounts of the two politicians was immediately flooded with insults from netizens. However, both of them did not budge. The reason is one, namely holding fast to the mandate of Indonesia's first president Soekarno to continue to support Palestinian independence.

Indonesia won the right to host the 2021 FIFA U-20 World Cup on October 20, 2019. The pandemic forced FIFA to cancel the tournament that year, but Indonesia's rights continued for the 2023 edition.

Indonesia's victory as the host of the U-20 World Cup was welcomed with joy throughout the country. But that happiness suddenly became boisterous as soon as the Israeli junior team was declared to have qualified for the final round for the first time in their history.

Indonesia, as one of the countries that does not recognize Israel as a country, flatly rejects the arrival of teams from the UEFA confederation.

There are two PDIP politicians who have rejected the most, namely Ganjar Pranowo and I Wayan Koster. At that time Ganjar was still the Governor of Central Java, a province where the final party was planned to be held. Meanwhile, I Wayan Koster is the Governor of Bali, the location for the draw for the group phase.

Both of them insisted on rejecting the presence of the Israeli national team to Indonesia, because it was considered contrary to the opening of the 1945 Constitution which stated that independence is the right of all nations.

The rejection of Ganjar and I Wayan Koster made the public divided into two camps. Some support it because this means that Indonesia consistently maintains the political direction of foreign countries which until now rejects Israel's sovereignty. Israel's rejection also came from a number of Islamic organizations.

In the midst of the swift flow of rejection, FIFA finally revoked Indonesia's host status at the 2023 U-20 World Cup.

This revocation was considered very disappointing, especially for the U-20 Indonesian national team which had to be disbanded after undergoing preparations for three years.

The sound of rejecting Israel's presence is the voice of humanity, not the political will. Historical awareness must also continue to be strengthened. To remember, Gelora Bung Karno Stadium (GBK) was born as a rejection of Israel," said PDIP Secretary General Hasto Kristiyanto as quoted by Antara.

PDIP's firm attitude in rejecting the arrival of the Israeli national team to Indonesia has an impact on the image of the party bearing the white-nosed bull. And the most affected was Ganjar Pranowo.

Indeed, Ganjar at that time had not been named a presidential candidate from PDIP. But the issue of him going to run in the 2024 presidential election certainly sounded strong. And, the rejection of the Israeli national team which was considered to be one of the triggers for FIFA's decision to revoke the right to host the U-20 World Cup had a negative impact on Ganjar.

The Kompas Research and Development poll in May 2023 showed Ganjar's electability had decreased by 2.5 percent. At that time, Ganjar's electability was 22.8 percent and was ranked second. Whereas in January 2023 his electability was still at 25.3 percent.

He was followed by the electability of Gerindra Party Chair Prabowo Subianto with 24.5 percent.

"After all, Ganjar's statement rejecting the Israeli football team playing at the U-20 World Cup, which was later linked to Indonesia's failure to host the international event, had an effect on its electability rate," said Kompas Researcher, Bambang Setiawan, quoting Kompas.

However, political observer Andriadi Achmad said that most Indonesians quickly forget cases like those experienced by Ganjar Pranowo. So it is not surprising, even though the electability of the former Governor of Central Java had declined after the rejection of the Israeli national team, his name is now starting to climb and compete fiercely with Presidential Decree Prabowo Subianto.

When Ganjar refused Israel, his popularity decreased drastically. His electability decreased. But after a few months, after being declared, the public quickly forgot about the case," Andriadi told VOI.

Andriadi said that the 2024 election campaign which will be held from 28 November 2023 to 10 February 2024 will be used for presidential candidates to win the hearts of prospective voters.

Our memory of society is very short. When the campaign will become an important moment, during the three months of the campaign it must take people's days," Andriadi said again.