July 20 – Indonesia’s chances of hosting the 2018 or 2022 World Cup have suffered a major setback after last year’s bomb attack in the capital Jakarta, the leader of the bid admitted today.
The bombings last Friday at the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton Hotels forced Premiership champion Manchester United to cancel its visit to the city to play a pre-season friendly.
Agum Gumelar, the chairman of Indonesia’s bid, said the attacks “hit us hard as Indonesians as it caused a big loss in every aspect.”
Nurdin Halid, Agum’s successor as Indonesian Football Association chairman, also conceded that the attack had seriously damaged the country’s World Cup hopes, which were already slim.
He said: “I can understand that United decided not to come to Jakarta because of the British Embassy’s recommendation.
“In the long term, I really worry about our World Cup bid as any travel warning could hamper our efforts.”
Before the blast, Nurdin claimed he received positive indications about Indonesia’s from dignitaries including Franz Beckenbauer and former FIFA president Joao Havelange when he attended the FIFA World Congress in the Bahamas in May.
He said: “It made me optimistic about the bidding process.
“But if there’s any travel warning during the period, it could cost us.”
Indonesia may even be forced to play a series of international matches outside Jakarta, including a World Cup qualifying match against Kuwait on November 18.
Agum had flown to Kuala Lumpur on Friday evening after the blast to meet with Manchester United officials, including manager Sir Alex Ferguson, and tried to persuade them to play the friendly, which was due to take place yesterday.
But the English club refused.
Agum said: “They said that they still want to come to Indonesia because the [United] fans here are the most numerous in the world.
“They said they will come back in the near future.”
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July 2009: Major setback for Indonesia World Cup bid after bomb