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Radja Nainggolan to visit Indonesia for 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup
Belgian-Indonesian soccer player Radja Nainggolan will visit Indonesia for the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup.
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Radja Nainggolan (asroma.com/asroma.com)
B
elgian professional soccer player Radja Nainggolan is set to visit Indonesia for the 2023 FIFA Under-17 World Cup, according to a video post on the Instagram account of Erick Thohir, chairman of the Soccer Association of Indonesia (PSSI) on Friday.
In the video, the Antwerp native whose father, Marianus Nainggolan, is Indonesian, thanked Erick for inviting him to the historic event. He also encouraged Indonesians to support the event by buying tickets and coming to the stadium.
In his professional soccer career, Radja has played as a midfielder for Italian teams Piacenza, Cagliari, Roma and Inter Milan, and the Belgian soccer team Royal Antwerp.
The 35-year-old has also played for the Belgian national team in different age groups, making a total of 30 appearances with the senior squad. Earlier this year, he officially joined Italian second-tier club SPA.
Indonesia was chosen to host the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup on June 23 after the original host, Peru, withdrew due to “infrastructure problems”. The tournament will begin on Nov. 10 and ends on Dec. 2. It is the first time the event will be held in Indonesia, as well as Southeast Asia.
Twenty-four teams from six confederations will join the tournament. The U-17 Indonesian national team will play in Group A along with Ecuador, Panama and Morocco.
Indonesia has prepared four stadiums to host the Cup: Jakarta International Stadium in Jakarta, Si Jalak Harupat in Bandung, West Java, Manahan Stadium in Surakarta, Central Java, and Gelora Bung Tomo in Surabaya, East Java.
