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Zenger
Zenger
World
Alberto Arellano

Indonesia’s Last-Minute Withdrawal Forces Cancellation Of World Beach Games

BERLIN, GERMANY - JUNE 21: Players of SO Kenia 1 (in white) compete against SO Serbia1 during Beach Volleyball Men's/Mixed Preliminaries M 01 between SO Serbia1 vs SO Kenia 1 during day five of Special Olympics World Games Berlin 2023 on June 21, 2023 in Berlin, Germany.The World Beach Games have been canceled after Indonesia withdrew as host of the tournament at the last minute, leaving insufficient time to find a replacement. PHOTO BY MAJA HITJI/GETTY IMAGES  © Z News Inc.

The World Beach Games have been canceled after Indonesia withdrew as host of the tournament at the last minute, leaving insufficient time to find a replacement.

Bali was to welcome countries from around the world, including Israel, for the second edition of the event from August 5-15, but the Olympic committee of the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country said that Jakarta refused to release the budget.

FIFA in March stripped Indonesia of hosting rights for the U-20 World Cup soccer tournament following objections to Israel’s participation.

The Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) made the Beach Games announcement on Tuesday, saying that it had to cancel the 14-sport event featuring 1,500 athletes from 100 nations because there was not enough time to find another host.

“It is with great surprise and extreme disappointment that ANOC has learnt that the Indonesian Olympic Committee (KOI) has withdrawn from its commitment to host the ANOC World Beach Games and the ANOC General Assembly in August 2023,” ANOC said.

MADRID, SPAIN – MAY 13: Javier Huerta Pastor and Alejandro Huerta Pastor of Spain compete with J. Li and Wang Y. W. of China during the Volleyball World Beach ProTour Futures match between Spain and China at Parque Deportivo Puerta de Hierro on May 13, 2023 in Madrid, Spain. PHOTO BY ALDARA ZARRAOA/GETTY IMAGES 

“With the Games scheduled to take place in one month, the decision at such late notice prevents ANOC from being able to find an alternative host. So there is no option but to cancel this year’s edition of the Games in Bali in August as well as the ANOC General Assembly.”

Qatar, another Muslim-majority country that does not maintain diplomatic relations with Israel, hosted the first World Beach Games in 2019, which included the participation of Israeli athletes.

The FIFA U-20 World Cup was moved to Argentina, where the Israelis went on a historic run, beating Brazil in the quarterfinals before losing to Uruguay in the final four. The Israelis finished the tournament in third place with a consolation win against South Korea.

Israel kicks off against England on Wednesday night in the UEFA European Under-21 Championship semifinals at Batumi Stadium in the Republic of Georgia.

 

Produced in association with Jewish News Syndicate

(Additional reporting provided by JNS Reporter)

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