By Victor Kanayo
The rescheduled U20 World Cup may hit rocks if FIFA don’t quickly rally to block impending bottlenecks lurking around.
This is after the cold war between settled host Indonesia and one of the qualified countries Israel reared up again.
Already, the imbroglio has forced postponement of official draws for the global youth tournament, earlier scheduled for this week.
Specifically, Bali, the Indonesian City expected to host the event has thrown in a spec as its governor announced refusal to host Israel’s team.
The Indonesian Football Association, (PSSI) said the draw that was to be held on Friday March 3, had been cancelled.
The 24-team tournament is scheduled to be held from May 20 to June 11, across six cities and Israel were set to make their debut in the competition.
As captured by Reuters, the Jakarta Post reported earlier this month, that Bali’s governor Wayan Koster had written to the Ministry of Youth and Sports imploring them to “adopt a policy forbidding the Israeli team from competing in Bali” due to the conflict with Palestine.
The letter was also sent to the PSSI. Reuters could not reach the governor’s office for comment.
“Previously, Bali governor Wayan Koster rejected the presence of the Israeli national team in the Fifa U-20 World Cup event… This can be a reason for Fifa to cancel the U-20 World Cup draw,” the PSSI said in a statement.
The PSSI said losing hosting rights, would harm Indonesian football teams’ chances of taking part in other Fifa tournaments in the future while the economic losses would amount to “trillions of rupiah.”
Indonesia are also trying to rebuild its reputation, after a deadly stampede last year led to the deaths of 135 spectators at a stadium in East Java in October. Many were crushed, as they fled for exits after police fired tear gas into the crowd.
To this end, the World football governing body, FIFA may wade in and pick another host for the tournament.
And if Indonesia lose hosting rights as a result, PSSI Executive Committee member, Arya Sinulingga, said he was worried about how Fifa sanctions could, “isolate Indonesian football from the world.”
Actually, Indonesia were supposed to have hosted the tournament two years ago, but was cancelled owing to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Earlier this month, protesters marched in the capital of Jakarta, waving Indonesian and Palestinian flags while demanding Israel not be allowed to participate.
Indonesia’s population is predominantly Muslim.
Most Indonesian Muslims practice a moderate version of Islam, but recent years have seen a rise in religious conservatism that has crept into politics.
Over the past year, Israeli forces have made thousands of arrests in the West Bank and killed more than 200 Palestinians, including fighters and civilians. Meanwhile, more than 40 Israelis and three Ukrainians have died in Palestinian attacks.
