The Reason For The U-17 World Cup Opening At Gelora Bung Tomo Surabaya Is Not JIS, Is It True That Political Elements?

Indonesian U-17 World Cup 2023. (Photo: Doc. PSSI)

JAKARTA - Minister of Youth and Sports (Menpora) Dito Ariotedjo revealed the reason for the opening of the 2023 U-17 World Cup to be held at the Bung Tomo Stadium (GBT), not at the Jakarta International Stadium (JIS).

The appointment of GBT as a venue to hold the opening match was due to the results of the schedule draw. When doing the draw, the first match did take place at GBT and Manahan Solo.

"That's because of the draw. During the draw for FIFA, the first day of schedule was at (Manahan Stadium) Solo and GBT," said Dito during the inauguration of the Indonesian contingent for the 2022 Asian Games Hangzhou, in Jakarta, Tuesday (19/9).

At first PSSI proposed JIS as the venue for the opening of the age group event. They also asked to hold a lively opening ceremony.

However, FIFA firmly rejected the second request. The parent of international football insisted that the opening of the U-17 World Cup should be held as simply as possible as usual.

"So, actually in the U-17 there is no special schedule for opening ceremonies. So, there is only the first match. You can see that the schedule for the first match on November 10 is in Solo and Surabaya," said Dito.

"Previously, the chairman of PSSI [Erick Thohir] had proposed a special opening ceremony session that gathered all countries, but in the end FIFA still asked to run the U-17 as usual. So, there is no special opening day," he added.

Indonesia as the host is in Group A with Ecuador, Morocco and Panama. In the inaugural match, the Garuda Muda Troops will meet Ecuador on November 10 at the GBT.

After the draw was out, the coach of the Indonesian national team U-17 Bima Sakti was confident that he would be able to bring his team through to the round of 16.

To qualify for the knockout round, Indonesia must finish the two best in the group. In addition, another return must be the four best runner-up status.