The Indonesian football stadium where a stampede killed 133 people will be torn down and rebuilt, President Joko Widodo said Tuesday, as the head of FIFA pledged to help “reform and transform” the sport in the country.
Gianni Infantino met Widodo in the capital Jakarta, just over two weeks after the tragedy, and a year before the Under-20 World Cup is due to be held in the Southeast Asian nation.
More than 40 children were among those killed in the city of Malang, East Java on October 1, in what Infantino described as “one of the darkest days for football”.
“For Kanjuruhan stadium in Malang, we will demolish and rebuild it according to FIFA standards,” Widodo told reporters.
He said the replacement stadium will have “proper facilities that can ensure the safety of both players and supporters”. — AFP
