FIFA will form a task force with the Indonesian Football Association to prevent a similar tragedy at next year’s U-20 World Cup.
Indonesian authorities are under pressure to take swift steps to overhaul football safety standards after more than 130 people died during a crowd crush at a match at the Kanjuruhan stadium in East Java on Oct. 1, in one of the world’s worst stadium disasters.
FIFA’s development-project coordinator Niko Nhouvannasak said that currently, the world soccer’s governing body was still in the middle of gathering data on the tragedy that killed 132 people in Malang, East Java, two weeks ago.
“We’ll use this data to draft a working plan to ensure this tragedy will never happen in the future,” Nhouvannasak said in a joint press conference held at the Gelora Bung Karno sports complex in Central Jakarta on Wednesday, as quoted by Kompas.
“Hopefully, the [Liga 1] competition can resume and the 2023 U-20 World Cup in Indonesia can go ahead as safely as possible.”
Security experts have said the firing of tear gas by police inside the stadium, a measure prohibited by FIFA, triggered the fatal stampede.
“We agreed to form a taskforce, or soccer transformation taskforce, consisting of the government, FIFA, and experts in soccer, security, and stadiums,” PSSI head, Mochamad Iriawan, said to reporters after a meeting with FIFA officials.
Under the plans, Indonesian police would ensure their standard operating procedures were synchronised with FIFA regulations, he said.
The joint taskforce will also include members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) as well as the police and the ministries of sport, home affairs, health and public works.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino is expected to visit Jakarta on Tuesday to meet with Indonesian President Joko Widodo, after which a joint commitment is due to be announced.
