GOAL explains the reasons behind Indonesia's disqualification as the U-20 World Cup host country and considers who could be the new host.
FIFA have removed Indonesia as the host for the Under-20 World Cup.
The 23rd edition of the biennial world championship tournament was supposed to be held in the Asian state from May 20 to June 11.
However, following the cancellation of the official draw for the tournament, which was supposed to be held in Bali last Friday, FIFA revealed that it has revoked the hosting rights from Indonesia.
GOAL explains the reasons behind Indonesia's disqualification, and consider who could be the new host.
Indonesia were awarded hosting rights in 2019 by FIFA.
However, FIFA had to cancel the official draw ceremony for the U-20 World Cup last Friday after Bali's governor Wayan Koster refused to host the Israel team.
Indonesia do not have any formal diplomatic ties with Israel and have been a very vocal supporter of Palestine in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. There were even street protests in Jakarta to oppose the participation of Israel in the U-20 World Cup, demonstrating their solidarity with Palestine.
Indonesians hold street protest in Jakarta against Israel’s participation in FIFA U/20s World Cup, which will be hosted by Indonesia in May and June.
(Credit: @MCAOps) pic.twitter.com/YHjoIe37Hx
Following the unrest, FIFA President Gianni Infantino and President of the Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI) Erick Thohir held a meeting on Wednesday to discuss a solution to the problem. However, the meeting did not bear any fruit and subsequently, FIFA released an official statement announcing the stripping of hosting rights from Indonesia.
The statement read: "FIFA has decided, due to the current circumstances, to remove Indonesia as the host of the FIFA U-20 World Cup 2023. Potential sanctions against the PSSI may also be decided at a later stage.
"FIFA would like to underline that, despite this decision, it remains committed to actively assisting the PSSI, in close cooperation and with the support of the government of President Widodo, in the transformation process of Indonesian football following the tragedy that occurred in October 2022.
"Members of the FIFA team will continue to be present in Indonesia in the coming months and will provide the required assistance to the PSSI, under the leadership of President Thohir.
"A new meeting between the FIFA President and the PSSI President for further discussions will be scheduled shortly."
FIFA removes Indonesia as host of FIFA U-20 World Cup 2023™
⬇️ https://t.co/ttAlT2fRLP
FIFA need to quickly come up with an alternative host country as the tournament is less than two months away from the scheduled start date.
The governing body do not want to change the dates of the tournament and have assured that a new host will be revealed soon.
"A new host will be announced as soon as possible, with the dates of the tournament currently remaining unchanged," read a statement from FIFA.