The Council of The International Football Association (FIFA) has selected Indonesia to host the Under-17 World Cup (U-17 World Cup). The selection was announced by FIFA, published on the evening of 23 June 2023.
U-17 World Cup will be held in Indonesia from 10 November until 02 December 2023.
The announcement on the location for the U-17 World Cup was made by FIFA Council simultaneously with the announcement that the United States will host FIFA Club World Cup in a new 32-team format.
“The FIFA Council also appointed Indonesia as the host of the U-17 World Cup 2023, Columbia as host of the Women’s U-20 World Cup in 2024, The Dominican Republic as host of the Women’s World Cup 2024, and Uzbekistan as host of the Futsal World Cup 2024. The timeframes for each competition will be confirmed soon,” said FIFA in a statement on its official website.
The 11th-hour appointment of Indonesia as Host for the U-17 World Cup comes after Peru’s failure to prepare promised infrastructure components for the U-17 World Cup that was initially scheduled to take place in Peru in early April 2023.
As reported by NusaBali.com, the chairman of The United Indonesian Football Association (PSSI), Erick Thohir, welcomed the appointment of Indonesia as host of the U-17 World Cup 2023 as a point of new momentum and unity for the PSSI. Thohir is also Indonesia’s Minister of State-Owned Enterprises.
Thohir said hosting the U-17 World Cup will unite the resolve of the government, the central government, the Indonesian police, The Armed Forces, and Indonesian football enthusiasts in their shared desire to make the coming world cup a success.
The PSSI is now busily selecting U-16 and U-17 players to join training local camps in July and August before entering overseas training in September-October. Exhibition matches for Indonesian teenage team players are now sought in Europe, Asia, and Africa. The international matches form part of the lead-up to the U-17 World Cup in Indonesia, scheduled for 10 November until 02 December 2023.
The drawing to determine the match-up for the U-17 World Cup in Indonesia will take place in August 2023.
Bima Sakri Tukiman has been named the team coach for Indonesia’s U-17 World Cup Team. Bima Sakti coached the Indonesian National Team that competed at the ASEAN Football Federation U-16 (AFF) in 2022.
Israel Not an Issue at U-17 2023
The rejection of Israel’s participation at the U-20 World Cup by Bali’s Governor, Wayan Koster, resulted in the cancellation of that event initially slated for Indonesia. Because Israel has not qualified to play in the coming U-17 World Cup, the possibility of Indonesia losing its second world cup hosting role in a single year is moot.
The countries slated to participate in the U-17 World Cup 2023 in Indonesia in November-December are the UK, France, Germany, Poland, Spain, Argentine, Brazil, Ecuador, Venezuela, Canada, Mexico, Panama, USA, Burkina Faso, Morocco, Senegal, New Zealand, and New Caledonia. Indonesia, as the host country, will also compete as one of five Asian teams, the list of which will be finalized following the completion of U-17 2023 play now underway in Thailand.
Barring any last-minute objections by Bali’s Governor that might put Indonesia’s hosting in doubt, confidence has been boosted by the assurances of readiness by the Bali Chapter of the PSSI and the top condition of the Kapten I Wayan Dipta Gianyar Stadium.
Ketut Suardana, the chairman of PSSI-Bali, underlined that Bali is ready to host the U-17 World Cup and has a complete supporting infrastructure support system, including a stadium, accommodation, transportation, and telecommunications – all world standard.
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