Less than two months after the youth tournament began, FIFA decided to move the organization from the Asian country. The responsibility was then transferred to a South American nation.
The 2023 U-20 World Cup will be staged in Argentina, as FIFA confirmed on Monday, April 17. The South American country inherits the event’s headquarters less than two months after the start of the tournament schedule, following FIFA’s decision to relocate the hosting duties from Indonesia at the end of March when preparations were already in place for the event.
Argentina Sub-20 World Cup 2023: Classifieds, Calendar, Groups and Venues
WHY FIFA TRANSFERRED THE U-20 WORLD CUP HEADQUARTERS FROM INDONESIA
Indonesia was chosen to host the Youth World Cup in October 2019, to be held in mid-2021 after the original dates were postponed from December 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Zurich confirmed that Indonesia would maintain hosting rights for 2023, but last‑minute changes altered the course of events.
On Sunday, March 26, with five days remaining before the group stage draw, the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) announced that the planned ceremony in Bali on Friday the 31st had been cancelled, without an official reason from FIFA for the decision. Three days later, FIFA confirmed that Indonesia would no longer host the tournament due to the prevailing circumstances surrounding the event.
Officials did not disclose detailed reasons, but the decision related in part to Israel’s participation as a UEFA representative after finishing second in the European qualifiers.
Indonesia has the largest Muslim population in the world and maintains tense diplomatic relations with Israel, which does not recognize Indonesia as a state. Protests against Israel’s participation grew across social platforms and in some government sectors.
Following protests in Jakarta, Bali’s governor, Wayan Koster, formally requested that the national sports ministry ban Israel from playing matches in the province. As reported by the PSSI, the assurances from the provincial government to host venues were subsequently withdrawn.
In addition to relocating the tournament, FIFA noted that possible sanctions would be determined later for the Indonesian federation for failing to meet commitments connected to hosting the event.
WHY ARGENTINA WAS CHOSEN AS THE NEW SUB-20 WORLD CUP HOST
After it became clear that Indonesia could not host, the Argentina Football Association (AFA) began efforts to secure the venue for two main reasons. The first was the potential to qualify as hosts for the tournament after a sporting basis had previously blocked them in South American contention. The second was to strengthen the candidature for the 2030 World Cup, which Argentina had proposed alongside Uruguay, Chile, and Paraguay.
With the backing of the national government, the leadership under Claudio Tapia leveraged Gianni Infantino’s presence at the CONMEBOL Congress to present the formal candidacy. From Asunción, on March 30, just over a day after the Indonesia decision, the FIFA president stated that Argentina had submitted the only formal bid with solid support. He indicated that the final decision would come within the next few days, noting Argentina’s strong football infrastructure and capability to host a tournament of this magnitude, while emphasizing that the process would be followed carefully.
Following more than two weeks of administrative steps and formal discussions, on Monday, April 17, FIFA announced that the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup would take place in Argentina. Infantino expressed confidence in the country’s ability to open its doors to the world’s rising stars, highlighting Argentina as a proven host with deep football roots.
Cited from Goal