The International Association Football Federation (FIFA) Council has selected Indonesia to host the Under-17 World Cup. FIFA named the team on the evening of the 23rd of June, 2023. The 2023 U-17 World Cup will be held in Indonesia from the 10th of November until the 2nd of December 2023.
The FIFA Council announced the venue of the U-17 World Cup while announcing that the United States would host the FIFA Club World Cup in a new 32-team format.
“The FIFA Council also appointed Indonesia as the host of the U-17 World Cup 2023, Columbia as host of the Women’s U-20 World Cup in 2024, The Dominican Republic as host of the Women’s World Cup 2024, and Uzbekistan as host of the Futsal World Cup 2024. The timeframes for each competition will be confirmed soon,” said FIFA in a statement on its official website.
The 11th-hour appointment of Indonesia as the host for the U-17 World Cup comes after Peru failed to prepare the promised infrastructure components for the big event that was initially scheduled to take place in Peru in early April 2023.
According to local media, Erick Thohir, chairman of The Indonesian Football Association (PSSI), welcomed Indonesia’s selection as the host of the U-17 World Cup 2023 as a source of a new driving force and unity for the PSSI. Thohir also serves as Indonesia’s Minister of State-Owned Enterprises.
Thohir claimed that hosting this big event will strengthen the commitment of the PSSI management, the central government, the Indonesian police, the Armed Forces, and Indonesian football fans in their common goal to make the upcoming World Cup a success.
The U-17 World Cup Team from Indonesia has appointed Bima Sakri Tukiman as their head manager. The Indonesian National Team, which participated in the ASEAN Football Federation U-16 (AFF) in 2022, was coached by Bima Sakti.
The U-20 World Cup was initially scheduled in Indonesia, but it was cancelled due to Bali Governor Wayan Koster’s refusal to allow Israel to compete. Israel still needs to qualify to compete in the next Under-17 World Cup. Thus, it seems unlikely that Indonesia would lose its second turn as a host nation in a single year.
The countries which are set to participate in the U-17 World Cup 2023 in Indonesia in November-December are England, France, Germany, Poland, Spain, Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Venezuela, Canada, Mexico, Panama, USA, Burkina Faso, Morocco, Senegal, New Zealand, and New Caledonia. Indonesia, as the host country, will also compete as one of five Asian teams, the list of which will be finalised following the completion of the Under-17 2023 play now underway in Thailand.
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