Jakarta: President Joko Widodo has finally issued an official statement regarding the U-20 World Cup, including the participation of the Israeli national team. This statement was conveyed by President Jokowi via a live broadcast on the Presidential Secretariat’s YouTube channel on Tuesday (3/28) evening.

In his statement, Jokowi conveyed Indonesia’s principles in fighting and supporting the independence of the Palestinian nation in accordance with the constitution.

“First, it is the principles, the principles of our country, Indonesia, which are always consistent and firm in the struggle and support for the independence of the Palestinian people, and support a settlement by finding a solution for the state of Israel and an independent Palestine state,” Jokowi said.

“This is in line with the constitution, rejecting colonialism in all its forms, and we always convey this in bilateral, multilateral and other international forums,” he added.

The president also explained Indonesia’s selection process to host the U-20 World Cup. “And also this opportunity, I am passing on to Indonesia to host the U-20 World Cup through a long process of bidding and selection. And in the final process, there were three bidding countries, namely Brazil , Indonesia and Peru. At that time, all parties fought and worked hard together so that Indonesia could host the U-20 World Cup,” said Jokowi.

“And finally, in October 2019, Indonesia was nominated to host the U-20 World Cup by FIFA. It is an honor for the Indonesian nation as they have been entrusted with hosting the FIFA U-20 World Cup. U-20 world. The sport organization has the most fans in the world,” he pointed out.

“When it was named as the host, we didn’t know who the participating team would be because it was still in the pre-qualification process and certainty that the Israeli national team would qualify for the U-20 World Cup. would only find out in July 2022. I guarantee that Israel’s participation has nothing to do with the consistency of our foreign policy stance towards Palestine. Because our support for Palestine is still firm and strong said Jokowi.

In the statement, the president also asked not to mix sport and politics. “And regarding the U-20 World Cup, we agree with the Palestinian ambassador to Indonesia that FIFA has rules that its members must obey. So don’t mix sports and politics,” he pleaded.

The president also said that currently FIFA is also aware of the rejection of the Israeli national team’s participation in the U-20 World Cup. “But we, the government and the PSSI, are always trying to find the best solution. For this reason, I sent the president of the PSSI (Erick Thohir) to meet the FIFA team to find the best solution, to find the best solution,” the president said. (amr)