Indonesia gears up to kick off FIFA U-17 World Cup amid efforts to reform troubled local football culture

JAKARTA: As Indonesia gears up to host the FIFA Under-17 World Cup next month, the country is working to improve its infrastructure and culture surrounding football following last October’s deadly stampede in Kanjuruhan Stadium.

The government is looking to renovate stadiums around the nation to the standards of football’s world governing body FIFA and put in new safeguards to prevent violence from supporters.

The biennial international men's youth football tournament will kick off on Nov 10, and will see 24 nations vying for the cup in matches played in Jakarta, Surabaya, Bandung and Surakarta.

This is the first time Indonesia is hosting a FIFA tournament. It will also be the first time its U-17 squad is playing in the event, having automatically qualified as the host nation.

The national team’s captain Iqbal Gwijangge said the squad is training hard to take on international rivals.

“I'm convinced that I'm qualified to be here. No matter what, I will give my 100 per cent. I will give everything for the Under-17 national team so that at the World Cup, we can compete with the rest of the other countries,” he said.

Indonesia replaced Peru as the organiser of this edition of the event after the South American nation was stripped of its hosting rights as it failed to fulfil its infrastructure commitments.

Football is one of the most popular sports in Indonesia and private football academies have mushroomed in the nation in recent years.

Interest has grown even further following the FIFA World Cup last year, with some local football academies seeing an increase of about 20 per cent in enrolment.

However, observers said more emphasis needs to be given to the development of the sport at the grassroots level.

“We are too focused on the