Sports Minister Asks Surabaya Govt to Use FIFA-standard Grass for U-20 World Cup

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Zainudin Amali, Youth and Sports Minister, stated that the Surabaya City Government should upgrade the quality of grass at the Gelora Bung Tomo (GBT) Stadium according to FIFA standards as the stadium will host the U-20 World Cup.

"The world’s football federation FIFA has appointed the GBT Stadium as one of the venues for the final round of U-20 World Cup in 2023," he said after an inspection at the stadium on Saturday evening.

As the person in charge for the implementation of the tournament, he reviewed the preparedness of the six venues which have been approved by FIFA as the host of the tournament.

In addition to the GBT Stadium, the other five stadiums are Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta, Gelora Sriwijaya Stadium in Palembang, Si Jalak Harupat Stadium in Bandung, Manahan Stadium in Solo, and Kapten I Wayan Dipta Stadium in Gianyar.

On the occasion, the minister inspected the whole infrastructure of the GBT Stadium, including the lobby, player’s locker room, as well as the spectator stands.

He has noted that since the stadium is adjacent to a landfill (TPA), it is concerned that the facility will give inconvenience to the implementation of the tournament.

“I deliberately came in the afternoon to the GBT since there is information that (usually) a bad smell appears at this hour. I have been here for a few hours, and it turns out that nothing happens. It means that the mayor and government of Surabaya City have handled (the inconvenience) seriously, thus so we do not smell anything,” he remarked.

Overall, Amali assessed that the GBT Stadium is ready to be host the FIFA U-20 World Cup.

"There are only small aspects which need to be improved, such as the quality of the grass on the pitch, which has not been in accordance with FIFA’s standards," he noted.

A worker is seen cutting football pitch grass using a lawnmower at the Gelora Bung Tomo Stadium (GBT), Surabaya, East Java, Friday, August 14, 2020. ANTARA PHOTOS/Moch Asim

He continued that in the near future, President Joko Widodo will issue a presidential decree on the renovations of the six venues.

Surabaya Mayor Eri Cahyadi stated that his party is ready to revitalize the grass of the GBT Stadium according to FIFA’s standards.

Currently, his party is waiting for the decree to plan the renovation and the budget.

The mayor continued that in addition to repairing the grass, the emergency stairs at the stadium would also be renovated to improve the safety of the audience.

"All renovations will be directly supervised by the Public Works and Public Housing Ministry. It is also possible that FIFA will oversee the renovation (directly) since it has an office in Jakarta," he added.

ANTARA

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