Indonesia Announces Reconstruction of Stadium Where 133 Died in Second-Worst Football Disaster
Hindu priests perform cleansing ceremony at Kanjuruhan Stadium in Malang, East Java, Indonesia
Pawan AtriEarlier this month, 133 people died in a stampede following riots between supporters of Arema FC and Persebaya Surabaya in Malang city in East Java, Indonesia. It was the second-worst disaster in football history concerning deaths, following the Estadio Nacional stadium tragedy in the Peruvian capital Lima in 1964 that killed 328 people.The Indonesian stadium where 133 people were killed during a stampede on October 1 will be demolished and rebuilt, the country’s president, Joko Widodo, announced on Tuesday.Widodo’s pledge to first tear down and then reconstruct the stadium came on a day when the president of FIFA, Gianni Infantino, was on a visit to the Indonesian capital Jakarta.Infantino is currently on a tour of Indonesia to get a first-hand glimpse of the country’s preparations for the FIFA Under-20 World Cup to be held in the Southeast Asian nation next year.”For Kanjuruhan stadium in Malang, we will demolish and rebuild it according to FIFA standards,” Widodo told reporters in Jakarta on Tuesday.Meanwhile, Infantino, who was flanked by the Indonesian president, added: “We will reform and transform football in this country.””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 stated.The FIFA chief’s assuring words come at a time when Indonesia’s football association and the public are still reeling from the aftereffects of the tragedy in Malang.However, Infantino’s public backing of Indonesia is not without reason.Considering the U-20 World Cup is only seven months away, relocating the prestigious tournament to any other location could prove to be difficult for football bodies, including FIFA.The case in point is this year’s UEFA Champions League final.The final of Europe’s premier club tournament was originally scheduled to take place at the Krestovsky Stadium in St. Petersburg.But it was moved to Paris after global sports bodies, including FIFA, UEFA, and Wimbledon suspended sporting ties with Russia following the country’s special military operation in Ukraine.When the final eventually took place in the French capital, turmoil broke out. Police were forced to fire tear gas shells and baton-charge supporters of both Real Madrid and Liverpool to contain the unruly crowd, some of whom tried to enter the stadium without valid tickets.
