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No reason why Israeli soccer players cannot compete, Indonesia says
Participating athletes must still fulfill all the requirements for visiting foreigners, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson has said.
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The Si Jalak Harupat soccer stadium in Soreang, Bandung regency, is among the stadiums that will host fixtures of the FIFA U-20 World Cup that is slated to be held in nine cities across Indonesia in 2023. (Antaranews/Bagus Ahmad Rizaldi)
I
ndonesia has left the door wide open for Israel’s national youth soccer team to compete in the FIFA U-20 World Cup that it is hosting next year, quashing concerns that geopolitics would seep into the global sporting event.
Israel qualified for the 2023 competition after securing a spot in the semifinal match of the 2022 U-19 EURO Cup in Slovakia last week. The accomplishment set off a heated debate regarding potential pushback from the host, Indonesia, a staunch ally of Palestine, which Israel continues to occupy.
But government officials have said that the Israelis can still compete in Indonesia, if only because there are clear precedents for their entry into the country.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Teuku Faizasyah told reporters on Thursday that Indonesia just happened to be the host of the competition and that the invitation for Israel to compete was extended by FIFA, an international entity.
He then pointed to a precedent at the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) meeting in Bali in March, where Israeli delegates from the Knesset -- the country’s parliament – attended at the invitation of the world parliamentary body.
“In the case of the U-20 competition, it was FIFA who invited them,” Faizasyah said at a press briefing.
He also said the Israeli athletes that want to participate must still fulfil all the requirements for visiting foreigners.
