Beautiful Bali has been known to disrupt the plans of many a tourist thanks to its surprisingly terrible traffic, but the Island of Gods has thrown a giant spanner into the works of Indonesia’s hosting of the men’s Under-20 World Cup. On Wednesday Fifa announced that it was taking the tournament away with a statement that made painful reading for locals. “Fifa has decided, due to the current circumstances, to remove Indonesia as the host of the Fifa U-20 World Cup 2023,” it said. Potential sanctions were mentioned.
This May and June was supposed to bring the world’s fourth-most populous country its biggest sporting event ever, by some distance. With 24 teams playing in six venues – four in Java, one in Sumatra and the other in Bali – it was billed as a chance to show a global audience that Indonesian football is not about stadium disasters or corruption but passion, colour and fascinating cultures.
