The tournament will bring together 24 teams divided into six groups and “Argentina will take the place of Indonesia on the ground”, said Fifa after a meeting of the bureau of its Council. Six-time winners of the trophy, Argentina are the most successful country in the history of the competition and already hosted it in 2001. The draw for the U20 World Cup will take place on Friday at Fifa headquarters in Zurich, added the instance.
The event was originally to take place in Indonesia, but Israel’s participation created strong opposition, particularly from the governor of Bali where the team was to play. Indonesia and Israel do not have diplomatic relations and the Southeast Asian country, which has the largest Muslim population in the world, is a strong supporter of the Palestinian cause.
After the cancellation of the draw, also scheduled for Bali, Fifa decided on March 29 to withdraw the organization of the tournament from Indonesia following a meeting between the president of the Indonesian Federation Erick Thohir and that of Fifa, Gianni Infantino.
