There are fears that the cancellation of the 2023 World Beach Sports Championships (AWBG) in Bali “will reduce Indonesia’s credibility in the eyes of the international community to organize similar international events”, said expert Djoko Pekik Irianto. in the management of sports achievements.
In addition, Indonesia has recently submitted strongly (bidlisten)) as a host of multi-event international sporting events, including the 2036 Olympics.
According to Djoko, the failure of the organization of the U-20 World Cup which was to be held last May-June and which is now added to the cancellation of the AWBG could be a record which affects the credibility of Indonesia.
“You can be sure that this will reduce the confidence of the world of international sport, in particular the IOC [Komite Olimpiade Internasional]. This must be done by the government and KOI [Komite Olimpiade Indonesia]”, Djoko told BBC News Indonesia on Thursday (06/07).
“In fact, towards hosting the Olympics, the road started well, from when Indonesia hosted the 2018 Asian Games which I think was quite successful. hope at the U-20 World Cup, but it was dashed.” he added.
Djoko hopes that the government and the KOI will “rethink” this resignation.
So far, the cancellation of AWBG would have “not received a budget from the government”.
Contacted separately on Wednesday (05/07), the Minister of Youth and Sports Dito Ariotedjo denied this information.
He admitted that the central government had budgeted IDR 446 billion to organize the event.
According to Djoko, the conflicting statements show that “there was miscommunication” between the government and the KOI.
It also shows that the planning for the AWBG event is not ripe given that Indonesia has been approved as a host since 2021.
“It seems from the statements that there may be a budget, but KOI is concerned that the remaining time will be short while it takes time for bureaucratic matters, since the budget mechanism is usually long. “, did he declare.
“If it really takes a long time, it is proposed to just postpone the time. I hope it can still be continued so that it is not cancelled,” Djoko said.
This cancellation, he continued, could have a psychological and financial impact on competing athletes after a long preparation for competition.
Previously, KOI “apologised” after AWBG 2023 was confirmed “not to have taken place” in Bali in August.
Initially, Indonesia was to host the AWBG 2023 which was to be held in Bali, from August 5 to 12, 2023. At least 1,500 athletes from 130 countries will participate.
However, the Association of National Olympic Committee (ANOC), in its official minutes on Wednesday (05/07), said that Bali was “withdrawing from hosting AWBG 2023”.
‘We are sorry’
The President of the Indonesian NOC or Indonesian Olympic Committee (KOI), Raja Sapta Oktohari, in his written statement on Wednesday (05/07), officially announced that the AWBG 2023 in Bali “cannot be held”.
“We express our most sincere apologies to ANOC and the International Federation,” said Raja Sapta.
His party also interviewed the athletes and all the NOCs who he said “have struggled since the qualification process”.
He then explained the reason for the cancellation, namely “due to time constraints in the bureaucratic administrative process”.
According to him, the Indonesian government actually approved the funding.
It’s just that “a system of budgetary bureaucratic mechanism is difficult to put in place”, given “the short time we have”, he explained.
“The situation seems to be getting more difficult as several sponsors of the ANOC 2023 World Beach Games have also announced their resignation,” said Raja Sapta Oktohari.
He said his party would continue to establish “intensive communication” with ANOC and relevant international sports authorities.
He promised that there would be “consequences” linked to the cancellation decision.
“Of course there are consequences. We always communicate,” he said.
The minister denied
Reacting to the cancellation of this event, Minister of Youth and Sports (Menpora) Dito Ariotedjo denied the cancellation of AWBG in Bali due to undisbursed government budget.
“It’s not true (because of budget issues that don’t come from the government),” Dito said when confirmed second.comWednesday (05/07).
He admitted that the central government already has a budget to organize the AWBG 2023 in Bali.
“In terms of the budget (AWBG 2023), the Ministry of Youth and Sports when initially considering the proposal in February, before I took office (Menpora), there was indeed a very big difference from to the proposal (funds) of nearly Rp. 1 trillion and the review results of Rp. 221 billion,” Dito said, as reported by the news agency BetweenWednesday (05/07).
Dito explained that when he was appointed Menpora, another review was done with the Financial and Development Monitoring Agency (PBKP) and the Directorate General of Budget (DJA) of the Ministry of Finance.
The result, according to him, is a budget of Rp 446 billion. “In preparing the plan, the Ministry of Youth and Sports supports the BPKP and the DJA of the Ministry of Finance to produce a budget plan in accordance with the regulations in force,” he said.
“Balinese retreat” as hosts, “huge disappointment”
Host Bali has been said to be “relinquishing” as the host of the 2023 World Beach Games, as noted in the official ANOC World Beach Games report.
“Bali is backing away from its commitment to host the ANOC World Beach Games in 2023,” the announcement read.
ANOC said Bali’s decision to step down as host was “a big surprise” and “huge disappointment”.
It has been said that Bali’s decision to withdraw as host of the ANOC World Beach Games “will make it difficult for her to find a replacement host”.
The reason is that the cancellation was decided when the event was only a month away, ANOC said.
“The late notification decision made it impossible for ANOC to find an alternative host, so there was no choice but to cancel the title,” he explained.
The World Beach Games were first held in Doha, Qatar in 2019. Indonesia was later granted host status in 2023.
It is reported that the qualification process for the 2023 World Beach Games is underway and many athletes have passed the qualifications.
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