Gianyar, Bali (ANTARA) – The Jakarta International Stadium (JIS) will be renovated to meet FIFA’s standards as a suitable stadium for the U-17 World Cup, according to Erick Thohir, the Chairperson of the Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI).He made the statement while monitoring the selection process of the U-17 national football team in Bali on Sunday. “The stadium will be renovated to meet FIFA’s standards,” Thohir emphasized. He added that a FIFA team will visit Indonesia to review several proposed stadiums, including JIS, for hosting the U-17 World Cup. However, he did not disclose the review schedule. He also mentioned that he had received notes from FIFA regarding JIS but declined to reveal them to avoid controversy. The JIS renovation project includes improving the turf field and stadium access. Thohir previously estimated that the budget required to improve the JIS turf field would amount to approximately Rp6 billion (around US$399,920). In total, there are 22 stadiums in Indonesia that need renovation, with a total budget of up to Rp1.9 trillion (around US$126.64 million). Indonesia has proposed six to eight stadiums to host the U-17 World Cup scheduled from November 10 to December 2. However, Thohir has not yet announced the names of those stadiums. Previously, six stadiums were proposed to host U-20 World Cup matches and underwent FIFA’s verification process. However, FIFA removed Indonesia as the host for the U-20 World Cup. The six stadiums proposed for the U-20 World Cup were Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium (Jakarta), Gelora Bung Tomo Stadium (Surabaya), Manahan Stadium (Solo), Jakabaring Stadium (Palembang), I Wayan Dipta Stadium (Bali), and Si Jalak Harupat Stadium (Bandung). During a FIFA Council meeting on June 23, 2023, in Zurich, Switzerland, it was determined that Indonesia would host the U-17 World Cup. The decision was made after Peru, which was previously named as the host in 2019, was stripped of hosting the U-17 World Cup in April 2023 due to uncertainty over the country’s infrastructure conditions.

Source: Antara News Agency