Four Indonesian venues to host FIFA Under-17 World Cup fixtures

Four Indonesian stadiums are to stage the FIFA Under-17 World Cup which will run from 10th November to 2nd December.

The tournament will be held at Jakarta International Stadium (JIS), Si Jalak Harupat Stadium in Bandung, Manahan Stadium in Solo and Gelora Bung Tomo Stadium in Surabaya.

Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) Chairperson, Erick Thohir advised earlier this week “out of eight stadiums, based on the result of a meeting with FIFA, we finally agreed on four stadiums."

Thohir, who is also serving as the Minister of State-Owned Enterprises, made the announcement after accompanying Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo to the inauguration ceremony for the Indonesia Arena at Gelora Bung Karno (GBK) Sports Complex on Monday.

An inspection of the venues, with a focus on turf conditions, had earlier been made by FIFA officials.

JIS - which only opened last year - was found to be defective after an initial inspection of the facility in July, soon after Indonesia was handed the tournament after Peru was stripped of hosting rights because it failed to finish building the required infrastructure.

Senior political and football administration figures who inspected JIS identified issues with spectator access and car parking as well as the playing surface.

According to the Kompas news service, Basuki said the playing surface will be completely replaced for short-term use ahead of the tournament and switched to a different type of grass for the long-term.

It has since been claimed that JIS will see five new access points added as well as a temporary playing surface.

Thohir went on to advise that there will be two groups competing at the 82,000-capacity JIS, two groups in Bandung and one each in Surabaya and Solo.

FIFA officials will visit Indonesia again on 26th August, bringing a larger team as part of the preparations for the tournament.

In March this year, FIFA stripped Indonesia of the rights to host the Under-20 World Cup Less than two months before the tournament was due to kick off, following protests across the predominantly Muslim country against Israel’s participation.

It was selected in June as host for the Under-17 World Cup after Peru failed to finish building the infrastructure necessary for the tournament.

Image: Pre completion concept for the Jakarta International Stadium. Credit: Buro Happold.