2023 FIFA World Cup U-20 Indonesia Cancellation

Overview

2023 FIFA World Cup U-20 Indonesia Cancellation was a FIFA World Cup tournament for football players under 20 years of age that was scheduled to take place in Indonesia in May 2023, but the event was canceled two months before its start without a clear reason. Many Indonesians believed that the reasoning behind it was the Kanjuruhan Stadium Disaster that happened in October 2022, as well as protests attempting to bar Israel from participating.

Background

On March 29th, 2023, the FIFA^[1] official site published a blog post that announced Indonesia's removal as the host of the 2023 FIFA World Cup U-20. The news came after the president of FIFA, Gianni Infantino, and the president of the Football Association of Indonesia, Erick Thohir, met up due to current situations. On the same day, Twitter^[2] official account @fifamedia shared the blog post and received more than 6,700 retweets and 12,100 likes in two days (shown below).

Online Reactions

On March 30th, 2023, Erick Thohir used his official social media accounts on Facebook^[3], Twitter^[4] and Instagram,^[5] to upload a blank image after FIFA announced that Indonesia had been removed as the host. The posts received more than 4,500 reactions, 460 shares, 3,500 retweets, 21,200 likes, and more than 322,000 likes, respectively (shown below).

Although it's still unclear why Indonesia was removed as the host, many Indonesians believed that it was because of the Kanjuruhan Stadium Disaster in October 2022. For example, on March 29th, 2023, Twitter^[6] user @FahmiAgustian uploaded tweet assuming it's impossible that this is only due to Indonesian protests against Israel participating in the FIFA World Cup U-20, implying Kanjuruhan was what ultimately made the decision. The tweet received more than 6,000 retweets and 20,100 likes in one day (shown below).

Many Indonesians also believed the reasoning came from several politicians refusing to allow Israel to participate in the tournament, blaming the politicians for it. For example, on March 26th, 2023, three days before the announcement, Twitter^[7] user @FaktaSepakbola uploaded a tweet about the Governor of Central Java, Ganjar Pranowo, and the Governor of Bali, I Wayan Koster, who refused to let Israel participate in the FIFA World Cup U-20. The tweet received more than 1,000 retweets and 7,200 likes in one week (shown below).

On March 30th, 2023, Twitter^[8] user @KepaArgawinata2 uploaded a tweet blaming politicians, organizations, and political parties who refused to let Israel participate, with a video showing the Indonesia U-20 team crying and disappointed after the announcement. The tweet received 848 retweets and more than 4,600 likes in one day (shown below).

On March 30th, 2023, Facebook^[9] user Pramudya Ananta Fajar uploaded an image comparing the situation to when FIFA banned Russia due to the invasion of Ukraine, using a Tom and Jerry edit. The image received 536 reactions and 634 shares in one day (shown below, left). On the same day, Facebook^[10] user Andika Pratama uploaded an image of the mascot of the 2023 FIFA World Cup U-20 named Bacuya, joking that the name is an acronym for "BAtal CUY Awoakowako" (Eng. It cancelled bruh {laughing}). The post received more than 1,300 reactions and 986 shares in one day (shown below, right).

Search Interest

External References