TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Youth and Sports Minister Zainudin Amali on Wednesday said the government guarantees the safety of all participating teams in the 2023 U-20 World Cup that will be held in Indonesia, which includes the Israeli national team.

"The government provides full support for the event (2023 U-20 World Cup), especially the President (Joko Widodo)," said Menpora in Jakarta on March 8.

Zainudin emphasized that the government has coordinated with relevant ministries and institutions to further secure the event’s continuity. Other matters related to relations between countries are also a concern of the government, he insisted.

"In time, the Coordinating Minister for Politics, Law and Security Affairs will definitely convey the steps," said the Menpora.

The Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) Chairman Erick Thohir emphasized that the organization is not involved in guaranteeing the security of the 2023 U-20 World Cup participating teams and stressed that this is the domain of the government.

"We are focused on organizing (matches) and preparing for the national team," said the man who is also the SOEs Minister, Antaranews reported.

The Israeli U-20 national team obtained the right to compete in the 2023 U-20 World Cup in Indonesia after becoming a finalist for the 2022 U-19 European Cup. However, this was not received positively by the Indonesian public as some have voiced rejection against Israel's participation in the sporting event.

One of the parties that loudly voiced their opinion on this matter is the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS).

The 2023 U-20 World Cup will be held in Indonesia from 20 May-11 June 2023. To date, 20 countries out of a total of 24 have confirmed their appearance, which consists of Indonesia, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras, the United States of America, Fiji, Brazil, Uruguay, Colombia, Ecuador, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, France, Israel, Italy, Slovakia, Gambia, Nigeria, Senegal, and Tunisia.

ANTARA

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