Argentina has made a formal bid to host the U-20 men’s World Cup, FIFA president Gianni Infantino said on Thursday.
The day before, FIFA removed Indonesia as the U-20 World Cup host amid an ongoing dispute over Israel’s participation in the tournament.
The governor of Bali had called for Israel to be banned from the tournament, while there were also protests from local religious groups. Israel has no formal diplomatic relations with Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country.
FIFA said that a new host would be confirmed as soon as possible and the tournament’s current dates of May 20-June 11 will be maintained.
Infantino was in Paraguay on Thursday ahead of the upcoming CONMEBOL Congress, and confirmed Argentina’s bid.
“We all know Argentine football and surely it can host a competition of this level,” Infantino told a news conference.
“There are other countries that have also announced interest but as a candidacy, with the government’s guarantees and other details, Argentina is the first and we will make the decision in two or three days,” he added.
Argentina could qualify through back door
Though hosting a major international tournament is always a big honor, Argentina may have an ulterior motive here too.
One month after their senior team captured the World Cup in Qatar, Argentina crashed out of qualifying for the U-20 World Cup. Should Argentina be chosen as host for the event, it would presumably give their U-20s a second chance at participating.
It’s unclear if Indonesia will still keep the spot in the U-20 World Cup they had secured by virtue of being the tournament host. That place could, in theory, instead go to whichever country steps up in their place.
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