The draw for the 2023 U20 World Cup was scheduled to take place on March 31 in Bali, Indonesia. However, FIFA unexpectedly announced the postponement of the draw.

"We received information from FIFA. In it, FIFA said that the draw ceremony for the U20 World Cup was canceled. Regarding when and where the draw will take place, we have not received any new information from FIFA," said Arya Sinulingga, a member of the Executive Committee of the Indonesian Football Federation (PSSI).

It is known that one of the reasons why FIFA announced the cancellation of the 2023 U20 World Cup draw was because the Governor of Bali refused to allow representatives of the U20 Israel team to enter the country to attend the draw. While according to FIFA regulations, all representatives of the 24 teams must be present for the draw to be held.

The reason why the Bali government refused to allow the U20 Israel representative to enter the country is because Indonesia does not have diplomatic relations with Israel and they do not support Israel in the Israel-Palestine conflict that has been going on for many years.

PSSI President Erick Thohir said the organization is working with the Indonesian Government to resolve the issue with FIFA, and hopes that the 2023 U20 World Cup will still be held as scheduled. The proposed plan is for the Israel U20 matches to be held in Singapore, but there are also many shortcomings.

The 2023 U20 World Cup is scheduled to take place from May 20 to June 11.

NK