In what appears to be a complete turnaround from his statement one week ago, Bali Governor Wayan Koster announced his support of the 2023 World Beach Games, to be held this August on the Island of Gods, despite the participation of the Israeli athletes.
After meeting with Minister of Youth and Sports Dito Ariotedjo and the chairman of the Indonesian Olympics Committee (KOI) Raja Sapta “Okto” Oktohari earlier today in Denpasar, Wayan Koster did not talk about his earlier opposition toward Israeli athletes competing on Indonesian soil.
“We talked about how these World Beach Games will run smoothly in line with the Constitution … because there is already an agreement that Bali will be the host,” said Koster, who is also a cadre of the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).
Though that may sound like a definitive confirmation of the World Beach Games, Koster’s statement does contain a slight ambiguity. His line about the “Constitution” may imply that there is still room for his rejection of Israeli athletes, given that Indonesia does not have diplomatic relations with the state due to its brutal occupation of Palestine.
Last week, Koster said he would reject Israeli athletes from entering the island for the 2023 World Beach Games (official name: 2023 ANOC World Beach Games), which are scheduled to be held in Bali from Aug. 5-12.
The statement came about two weeks after the island’s top official rejected the Israeli soccer team from competing in Bali for the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup, which resulted in FIFA stripping Indonesia of its hosting rights.
Okto, who proclaimed in late March that “Indonesia is too big to be minimized in sports”, said Bali is ready to welcome the World Beach Games athletes.
He added that all the fuss about Israel could end up being for nothing.
“[Israel’s participation] is not [confirmed] yet. This late April, we will hold a meeting and from there we will see which countries have qualified for the games,” Okto said, adding that he is thankful for Koster’s support.
