President Joko Widodo reveals plans of demolishing and rebuilding Kanjuruhan Stadium after one of the deadliest football incidents happened earlier this month.
President Joko Widodo of Indonesia announced the rebuilding of the Kanjuruhan stadium in Malang according to safety standards set by the sport's governing body FIFA ,
The infamous stadium will be demolished following the deadly stampede at the end of a league match between Arema FC and rivals Persebaya Surabaya when supporters invaded the pitch that forced the police to fire teargas into packed stands, sparking a crowd crush.
Six people, including police officers and organisers, have been charged for the incident and are facing criminal charges over the crush, which is one of the world's worst stadium disasters.
"Kanjuruhan stadium in Malang...we will demolish it and rebuild according to FIFA standards," Joko Widodo told reporters after meeting the Fifa president, Gianni Infantino.
Fondly called Jokowi, the president said the stadium would be replaced with a new one, "with proper facilities that can ensure the safety of both players and supporters."
"This is a football country, a country where football is a passion for over 100 million people," he said. "We owe it to them that when they see a match they are safe and secure."
Indonesia is also set to host the 2023 under-20 World Cup, and during Widodo and Infantino’s meeting, have agreed to form a joint task force ahead of the event.
"We agreed to thoroughly transform Indonesian soccer," the president said. "Every aspect of preparation...needs to be based on FIFA standards."
The youth tournament is scheduled to take place in May-June 2023, in multiple cities across the archipelago nation.
“What I can guarantee to all the people of Indonesia: Fifa is here with you, Fifa is here to stay, Fifa is here to work in a very close partnership with the government, with the Asian Football Confederation and with the federation of Indonesia,” Infantino affirmed.
Tags: #football, #incident, #stampede