Football Tribe SEA Editor
The Football Federation of Indonesia (PSSI) have officially chosen six stadiums from a shortlist of ten for the upcoming 2021 FIFA U-20 World Cup, which will be held in Indonesia. The six stadiums will hold every match in the upcoming tournament, from the group stages all the way to the final. To quell worries that the tournament will be heavily concentrated within the island of Java, the only two stadiums from outside the island that made it into the shortlist were both given the nod for the official stadium list.
Regarding the six stadiums, the PSSI have communicated with the Ministry of Public Works to prepare and improve the stadiums’ relevant infrastructures before September or October, when officials from FIFA will come to Indonesia to inspect the stadiums and determine whether they’re fit to hold a World Cup match or not.
“The PSSI have completed a number of key meetings with relevant ministerial departments regarding the preparations for the 2021 U-20 World Cup,” Yunus Nusi, the caretaker secretary general of the PSSI told Kompas, “A lot of things were discussed within these meetings. Among them the stadiums that we’re using for the tournament as well as establishing a committee structure.”
Throughout the buildup towards the 2021 FIFA U-20 World Cup, the initial ten stadiums within PSSI’s shortlist were have judged to have fulfilled the minimum standard set by both the FIFA and the AFC. Two stadiums from the 10-stadium shortlist were even renovated from the ground-up in order for them to fulfill the standards needed.
The six stadiums that have been chosen by the PSSI to host the 2021 FIFA U-20 World Cup were:
- Gelora Bung Karno (Persija Jakarta, Indonesia national team), Central Jakarta, DKI Jakarta
- Gelora Bung Tomo (Persebaya Surabaya), Surabaya, East Java
- Si Jalak Harupat Stadium (Persib Bandung), Soreang, Bandung Regency, West Java
- Manahan Stadium (Persis Solo), Solo, Central Java
- Gelora Sriwijaya Stadium (Sriwijaya FC), Palembang, South Sumatra
- Kapten I Wayan Dipta Stadium (Bali United), Blahbatuh, Gianyar Regency, Bali
The four stadiums that were eliminated from the shortlist by the PSSI were PS TIRA-Persikabo’s Pakansari Stadium in Cibinong, Bogor Regency, the Patriot Candrabhaga Stadium in Bekasi, the Wibawa Mukti Stadium in Cikarang, Bekasi Regency, and PSIM Yogyakarta’s Mandala Krida Stadium in Yogyakarta. Out of the four, the Pakansari, Patriot Candrabhaga, and Wibawa Mukti have experience in hosting international matches in recent years. Meanwhile, the Mandala Krida was undergoing an extensive renovation process that would hopefully overhaul the stadium’s facilities. However, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic meant that renovation works at the Mandala Krida were ground to a halt.
“President Joko Widodo and a number of ministerial departments are pledging their full support to the PSSI for the success of this event, ” Yunus said, “Starting from next week, we’ll try to gather more support from other ministerial departments and explain to them in more detail about the U-20 World Cup.”
And while the PSSI have submitted their six stadiums to FIFA, the governing body of football have yet to say anything about PSSI’s submitted list. This mean that the PSSI, underneath FIFA’s advice, might have to replace, remove, or add more stadiums into their official list, pending FIFA’s assessment.