Courtesy of Instagram/@officialpssi

In a quite surprising manner, FIFA chief Gianni Infantino in Shanghai has just announced Indonesia is to be the host of the 2021 U-20 soccer World Cup, beating contenders Brazil and Peru. A top Youth and Sports Ministry official said that the solid support shown by the government played a pivotal role in securing the appointment to host.

The Soccer Association of Indonesia (PSSI) has received documents from President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, then national police chief Gen. Tito Karnavian and acting Youth and Sports Minister Hanif Dhakiri that guaranteed the readiness of the association to act as a host of the prestigious event.

“Not to mention the huge support from Foreign Minister Retno L.P. Marsudi and dozens of regional sports ministers who earlier showed support during the Manila meeting, which I attended to represent the acting youth and sports minister,” the secretary of the Youth and Sports Ministry, Gatot S. Dewobroto, said on Thursday.

A member of the PSSI executive committee, Refrizal, praised the appointment but he warned that a massive amount of hard work was required to prepare both the infrastructure and the national team. He said there were some modifications that needed to be done in order to be in line with FIFA’s standards.

“There are some basic things like chairs and other equipment that we need to modify to be in line with FIFA’s requirements,” the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) politician said.

He said PSSI needed to work closely with the government and local administrations during the preparations. Right now, he said, there are 10 stadiums that are prepared for the championship.

They are the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta, the Pakansari Stadium in Cibinong, Bogor, the I Wayan Dipta Stadium in Bali, the Bandung Lautan Api Stadium in Bandung, the Manahan Stadium in Surakarta, the Gelora Sriwijaya Stadium in Jakabaring, South Sumatra, the Chandrabhaga Stadium and Wibawa Mukti Stadium in Bekasi, the Mandala Krida Stadium in Jogjakarta and the Gelora Bung Tomo Stadium in Surabaya.

“Currently we are preparing these stadiums for this purpose,” he said.

The coordinator of Save Our Soccer, Ahmal Marhali, acknowledged the appointment was like a light at the end of the tunnel for Indonesian soccer, something to hope for amidst the hustle and bustle and mismanagement allegations in the local soccer landscape.

“Indonesia was the second country elected to host this event following Malaysia in 1997. The massive energy the government spent to build and renovate sporting facilities is apparently luring FIFA’s attention,” he told The Jakarta Post.

Besides the infrastructure, he said, the fact that Indonesia is the home of millions of soccer fans is also of interest to FIFA.

The head of the Indonesia National Team Supporters Association, Ignatius Indro, said one of the biggest challenges for Indonesia as a host country for such a world-class event is handling the different cultural values that might hold different perspectives on several matters.

“Alcoholic beverages like beer, for example, could become a problem if we do not address this early and find a win-win solution because we will likely host fans from all over the world and many of them drink beer,” he said.

Therefore, he said, the involvement of security personnel to assure that this type of cultural collision would not do any harm to either local people or foreign fans is mandatory.

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