The football stadium where more than 130 people died in early October will be demolished, the Indonesian president announced on Tuesday October 18 after a meeting with the boss of Fifa who wants to help reform football in Indonesia.
Gianni Infantino traveled to the Southeast Asian country two weeks after the deadly stampede sparked by police tear gas fire at the end of a match in Malang, in the east of the island of Java on October 1.
“Appropriate facilities that can ensure the safety of players”
“
For the Kanjuruhan stadium in Malang, we will demolish it and rebuild it according to Fifa standards, with appropriate facilities that can ensure the safety of players and fans
,” President Joko Widodo told reporters after talks. with Gianni Infantino.
The head of world football's governing body has pledged to help and invest in the transformation of Indonesian football to improve its security.
"
We are going to reform and transform football in the country
," said Gianni Infantino, stressing that Indonesia was preparing to host the Under-20 (U-20) World Cup next year in a dozen stadiums in across the archipelago.
Efforts will mainly focus on the operational improvement of stadiums, the behavior of fans, as well as football education programs in schools, he explained.
"
We will bring experts, we will help and invest to ensure that Indonesia shines on the world football stage
."
International safety standards
Joko Widodo added that he had agreed with Fifa on "
a profound transformation of Indonesian football on all aspects of matches to comply with international security standards
".
The death toll from the disaster rose to 133 on Tuesday, after the death of a 33-year-old man who succumbed to his injuries received in the stadium.
More than forty children also perished in the tragedy described by Gianni Infantino as "
one of the darkest days for football
".
The deadly stampede caused by tear gas being fired towards the stands occurred after a match between local team Arema FC and those from neighboring town Persebaya Surabaya after local fans invaded the pitch.
Many panicked victims were crushed or suffocated while trying to use closed or too narrow exit doors in the 42,000-seat stadium, authorities said.
Six people, including three police officers, were indicted and the regional police chief transferred.
Investigators last week called on the head of the national football federation and his management committee to resign, following a preliminary report on the disaster, which has so far had no effect.
They confirmed tear gas fire by police appeared to be the cause of the disaster and reported that more than three hours of surveillance camera footage was missing.
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Representatives of Fifa and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) have been in Jakarta since last week to help the national federation (PSSI) and the government to investigate the event.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo had suspended matches in the country pending the outcome of an investigation and called for a verification of security conditions at all stadiums.
