The FIFA U-20 World Cup in Indonesia is less than 100 days away, and the sport’s governing body is concerned about the state of the grass at Jakarta’s Gelora Bung Karno (GBK) stadium.
In November 2022, the government said the national stadium would be shut ahead of the major tournament in May 2023. The announcement came just days after the venue was confirmed for back-to-back Blackpink concerts on March 11 and 12, 2023.
As of now, GBK is still the confirmed venue for the K-pop superstars’ concerts. The stadium will also host Indonesian diva Raisa’s concert on Feb. 25. Both acts are expected to attract crowds in the tens of thousands — GBK itself has an official capacity of 77,193.
It seems FIFA is okay with that — as long as the pitch is kept in tip-top shape.
“We are in constant communication with FIFA. We always report on every single activity [in the GBK]. As for these concerts, we communicated [this matter to FIFA] earlier this year,” U-20 World Cup Project Committee lead Maaike Ira Puspita said today.
“The priority is to maintain the state of the grass.”
The 2023 U-20 FIFA World Cup will be held in six cities across Indonesia from May 20 to June 11, showcasing the world’s best young talents from 24 nations.
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