Israel Has The Opportunity To Appear In The 2023 U-20 World Cup In Indonesia, Menpora: Nothing To Do With Politics, Everyone Can Play Here

Menpora Zainudin Amali (Photo: Doc. Kemenpora)

JAKARTA - Minister of Youth and Sports (Menpora) Zainudin Amali gave his response about the Israeli national team which has a chance to appear in the 2023 U-20 World Cup in Indonesia. According to him, any country that passes will be welcome to appear.

This was conveyed by Amali regarding the status of Indonesia as the host for the upcoming 2023 U-20 World Cup. Israel's opportunity to appear in the country is quite a highlight, considering that the country has received a lot of criticism regarding the conflict with Palestine which continues to flare up.

However, the Minister of Youth and Sports emphasized that if viewed from a background based on the sports aspect, political matters cannot be interfered with in it. For that, Amali welcome it.

"We have discussed that since 2019 all countries that have qualified to participate in the 2023 FIFA World Cup U-20 will be welcome to play," Amali said about Israel, which is likely to appear in the 2023 U-20 World Cup.

"Make sport not having anything to do with politics, that's why FIFA has told us that any country that passes must be able to play here. So there's no problem," Amali continued.

Regarding Israel, the Minister of Youth and Sports also stated that matters relating to potential participants for the 2023 U-20 World Cup had been discussed since 2019. At that time, Indonesia had been appointed to host the 2021 U-20 World Cup although it had to be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Furthermore, Amali also answered questions about security if Israel had the opportunity to appear in the 2023 U-20 World Cup which was held in Indonesia. According to him, this will also be an important concern and will hand it over to the security forces for special discussions.

"Surely our security forces will be able to provide a sense of security. This is something that needs attention," Amali explained.

Currently, Israel has the status of runner-up in Group B of the 2022 U-20 European Cup. Israel has collected four points from two matches and will still undergo a decisive match against England.

If Israel were moved from the runners-up position in Group B after that match, they still have a chance to appear in the 2023 U-20 World Cup via the play-off route. And to get that ticket, they first fought between the third-placed Group A and Group B.