How Bali governor’s Israel protest ended Indonesia’s U20 World Cup dream

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.

Events this week put paid to that. Indonesia, the most populous Muslim-majority country in the world and a supporter of the Palestinian cause, does not have diplomatic relations with Israel, who qualified for the tournament last year by reaching the final of the European Under-19 Championship and losing to England.

Bali is mainly Hindu and perceived as a free-spirited resort for international tourists but, on 14 March, the island’s governor, Wayan Koster, wrote to the minister of sports to protest against Israel’s participation. “[There is no] diplomatic relationship between the Indonesian government and the Israeli government … we request the Minister adopt a policy forbidding the Israeli team from competing in Bali,” read the letter. In the same week, about a hundred like-minded people marched in Jakarta.

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