Following Government Recommendations Regarding Covid-19 Prevention, International Youth Championship 2021 Officially Postponed

International Youth Championship 2021 logo. (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - The 2021 Indonesia Youth Championship (IYC) which should have been scheduled to take place in early December has been officially postponed. The decision was taken following the recommendations of the Indonesian Government regarding the prevention program for the new variant of COVID-19.

With the emergence of new policies related to the prevention program for the new variant of COVID-19, the organizers find it difficult to hold the tournament according to a predetermined schedule.

IYC 2021 itself will actually take place in two cities, namely, Bali, precisely at the Captain I Wayan Dipta Stadium and Jakarta, which uses the Jakarta International Stadium.

In the agenda, which was scheduled to take place on December 4-11, there will be four participating teams, namely Indonesia All Star, Barcelona U-18, Real Madrid U-18, and Atletico Madrid U-18.

Unfortunately, the agenda was not held due to the new policy from the government. The organizers could not be careless and tried to respect and obey the government's advice.

“We just received this notification suddenly approaching the date of the event. We respect the decision of the Indonesian government and have decided to postpone the 2021 International Youth Championship event," said Gede Widiade, Chairman of Pancoran Soccer Field as the tournament organizer.

"After all, health is the top priority," Gede Widiade emphasized as quoted from an official statement, Friday, December 3.

The IYC 2021 event was held with the aim of further socializing that Indonesian tourism is safe to visit. Moreover, Bali is one of the icons of Indonesian tourism.

In addition, IYC 2021 is also part of the soft launching of the Jakarta International Stadium, which is the latest modern stadium in the capital city.

Apart from the postponement of the IYC 2021 schedule, all participating teams have actually made preparations to perform optimally. The Indonesia All Star team, which was trained by Ilham Romadhona, is ready to compete.

However, with this decision, the team, which was strengthened by several former Indonesian U-16 national team players, had to postpone their wishes and be patient. They have to wait for a new schedule to play against three top Spanish clubs.