The 2023 FIFA U20 World Cup will no longer be hosted by Indonesia after the world football body announced they withdrew the hosting rights due to “current circumstances”.
Indonesia was originally billed to stage the U20 World Cup in 2021, but the tournament was cancelled due to the adverse effects of the Coronavirus Pandemic.
The principal reason Indonesia will not stage the World Cup has to do with the country’s hard stance that as an Islamic entity it cannot take in one of the qualifiers Israel.
Top government officials have asked that Israel be expelled from the World Cup on account of their sharply contrasting political standpoints.
Such a political position will most certainly damage the chances of Indonesia’s bid to host the 2034 World Cup as well as the 2036 Olympics.
FIFA have said sanctions will be handed down to Indonesia, while a new host country will soon be announced with the hope that the tournament could still be played between May and April as originally planned.
The Flying Eagles as well as Senegal, the Gambia and Tunisia will represent Africa at the 2023 U20 World Cup.
