Singapore, Indonesia interested in hosting youth world football events

In a press statement on Monday the Football Association of Singapore said it has signed a letter of interest to consider hosting the tournaments jointly with its Indonesian counterpart.

“This letter of intent has been submitted to FIFA. This letter of intent is exploratory at this stage. The bid, if any, will need to be further developed with FIFA, PSSI, and for consensus to be sought with agencies in Singapore.”

Host countries qualify for the tournaments by default, which means Singapore can compete in a FIFA youth tournament for the first time if the bid is accepted.

“I believe Singapore and Indonesia can be good hosts,” The Strait Times quoted Indonesian President Joko Widodo as saying.

The last time Singapore competed in an international tournament was 2010, when their U15 team won a bronze medal at the Youth Olympics.

The U17 World Cup will become an annual event from 2025.

The latest U17 World Cup was held in four cities in Indonesia from Nov. 10 to Dec. 2, with Germany lifting the cup.

Indonesia won the hosting rights for the 2023 U20 World Cup, but there were protests in the country against Israel’s participation, and the tournament was moved to Argentina.

In a recent podcast on The Strait Times, former Sport Singapore CEO Lim Teck Yin said Singapore is capable of hosting a World Cup tournament.

“The capacity levels that are required for that, in a matter of the next decade, Singapore will have those.”