HOST JUNTING

After Indonesian football suffered another huge blow by having the hosting rights for this year's Under-20 World Cup stripped, FIFA was forced to look elsewhere...

- John Duerden & Tim Vickery

Indonesian football fans had endured years of mismanagement, incompetence and corruption even before last October’s Kanjuruhan Stadium tragedy that cost 135 lives. It was a shocking disaster but, for those in what is arguably Asia’s most passionate football nation, not that surprising. There was one bright spot on the horizon and a chance for a new start for the game. The FIFA Under-20 World Cup in May was to be by far the biggest sporting tournament to be held in the world’s fourth-most populous country. It was not just seen as a turning point but a chance to show an international audience a colourful, vibrant and diverse culture on and off the pitch.

And then, just like that, it was gone. All because of a row that started in Bali, one of three islands – along with Java and Sumatra – due to host to the 24 teams and the location of the draw that was to be made on March 31. A week earlier Wayan Koster, governor of Bali, a mainly Hindu island in the Muslim majority nation, wrote to Indonesia’s sports minister protesting the presence of Israel in the competition and reminding of the country’s support of Palestine:

“[There is no] diplomatic relationship between the Indonesian government and the Israeli government…we request the Minister adopt a policy forbidding the Israeli team from competing in Bali,” read the letter. Ganjar Pranowo, governor of Central Java, made similar comments.