Argentina will host the next U-20 World Cup, the country announced today.
The announcement took place during a presentation by the Economy Minister Sergio Massa and the president of the Argentine Football Association (AFA), Claudio “Chiqui” Tapia, who said that international football governing body FIFA will make the official announcement within the next hours.
The U-20 World Cup is for national men’s football teams for players under the age of 20. FIFA will allow Argentina’s U-20 men’s team to participate as the host country, despite the fact that it failed to qualify during the South American U20 tournament.
Massa and Tapia held a ceremony at the Economy Ministry alongside the AFA board of directors and Tourism and Sport Minister Matías Lammens.
The Economy minister said that Argentina has the necessary financing to hold the tournament, after FIFA withdrew Indonesia’s candidacy because the country does not recognize Israel as a sovereign state and opposed its participation in the tournament.
The conference included representatives of Argentine teams, such as Rodolfo D’Onofrio (River Plate), David Garzón (Huracán), Marcelo Achile (Defensores de Belgrano), Guillermo Raed (Mitre de Santiago del Estero) and AFA secretary general, Víctor Blanco Rodríguez (Racing Club), among others.
Ahead of the midday announcement, the government had published a decree today authorizing resources for the application to host the tournament.
“Given the importance of the event in the making, it is appropriate to authorize the Economy Ministry and the Tourism and Sport Ministry to sign the documents that constitute the necessary government guarantees in the framework of the bidding for the celebration of the event called ‘FIFA U-20 Men’s World Cup 2023′,” says Decree 201/2003, published in the Official Bulletin.
The regulation bears the signatures of President Alberto Fernández, Chief of Cabinet Agustín Rossi, Lammens, and Transport Minister Diego Giuliano.
Source : Buenos Aires Herald
