The Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, with a capacity of over 77,000 seats, will be the “stage” for the clash between Vietnam and Indonesia (March 21). However, on March 8, the stadium’s management was criticized for poor maintenance, leaving the grass yellow. When Indonesia U.20 played a friendly match with Thailand U.20 in January 2024, many areas of the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium were also uneven, causing problems for the players in handling the ball. In addition, the use of the stadium for election campaigns is also considered a cause.
The grass at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium turned yellow during the friendly match between U.20 Indonesia and U.20 Thailand.
Speaking to CNN Indonesia on March 11, Head of Public Relations, Legal and Administration of Gelora Bung Karno Stadium - Asep Triyadi said: "After being criticized, we have tried to take care of the field urgently. The best measures have been applied, the condition of the grass is starting to turn green and I can guarantee that the players will not encounter any problems when playing here."
However, he said, the pitch still has some uneven spots and needs improvement because the quality of the grass added is not the same. Mr. Asep Triyadi continued: “There have been many improvements in the quality of the grass, but there are still some shortcomings. In particular, the grass that should not be exposed to direct sunlight is having difficulties. But from now until the match between Indonesia and Vietnam, which is until March 21, we still have time. All the staff at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium are working hard, the suppliers are also serving the best, so everyone should not worry.”
Gelora Bung Karno Stadium has started to turn green again.
In addition to revealing the condition of the Gelora Bung Karno stadium, Mr. Asep Triyadi said that the International Football Federation (FIFA) had received feedback about the yellowed and substandard grass before the match in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. In the coming days, FIFA will send representatives to inspect, but the specific date for him and the stadium management board is still unknown.
“We definitely prioritize our national team to play at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium. Since this is a FIFA-level match, it will definitely be checked in advance. We don’t know when, but we will all work hard. The decisions are based on God’s will, hoping everything will go smoothly. At the same time, the stadium management also hopes that the audience will come to watch the match between Indonesia and Vietnam in an orderly manner, without causing any incidents,” Mr. Asep Triyadi added.
The match between Vietnam and Indonesia received much attention from fans in this country.
The match at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium between Vietnam and Indonesia also received great attention from fans of the "Land of Ten Thousand Islands". In just 2 days since the announcement by the Indonesian Football Federation (March 5), more than 77,000 tickets for this stadium were sold out. After a positive performance at the 2023 Asian Cup and the addition of many naturalized players, Indonesian fans are expecting the national team to continue to reap favorable results against the Vietnamese team.
In Group F of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, the Vietnamese team has 3 points, ranking 2nd while Indonesia has only 1 point, ranking last. Therefore, the two matches in March will greatly affect the situation of this group.
Source link
![[Photo] Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chairs Government Conference with localities on economic growth](https://vstatic.vietnam.vn/vietnam/resource/IMAGE/2025/2/21/f34583484f2643a2a2b72168a0d64baa)
Comment (0)