Why did Indonesia suddenly change the stadium in AFF Cup 2024, making coach Shin Tae-yong angry?

Change from a stadium with nearly 80,000 seats to a stadium with only 20,000 seats

PSSI said that in the group stage of the AFF Cup 2024, the Indonesian team will move from Gelora Bung Karno to Manahan Stadium. In addition, if they pass the group stage, the Indonesian team will not be able to play at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium. Currently, PSSI has not officially announced the stadium that the Indonesian team will use in these rounds. It is expected that next week, PSSI will work with the teams competing in the national championship of this country to find a solution.

In terms of capacity, Manahan Stadium has only 20,000 seats, far less than Gelora Bung Karno - a stadium with a capacity of nearly 80,000 seats. Therefore, CNN Indonesia assessed that this will be a great loss in terms of spirit for coach Shin Tae-yong and his team in the upcoming tournament.

Indonesia team will use Manahan stadium in AFF Cup 2024

Mr. Sumardji - Head of the Indonesian team revealed the reason for changing the competition venue: "For the group stage, when the Indonesian team meets Laos and the Philippines, we will use Manahan Stadium. If we pass the semi-finals, we will not use Manahan anymore because it may affect the schedule of the national tournament. At the same time, after this time, we will announce the new home stadium.

I think it is reasonable not to use Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in the AFF Cup 2024. The Indonesian team will use Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in March 2025 when they meet Bahrain in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. Therefore, everything at this stadium must be carefully prepared, without any mistakes.

The Indonesian team will not have as many fans as in recent matches.

Thus, Indonesia became the second team in Group B to change stadiums in the 2024 AFF Cup. Before PSSI announced this decision, the Vietnamese team also moved from My Dinh Stadium to play at Viet Tri Stadium.

Coach Shin Tae-yong is not worried

According to the PSSI announcement, the Indonesian team will start gathering on November 26. Coach Shin Tae-yong has only called up 2 players over 21 years old, Asnawi Mangkualam (25 years old) and Pratama Arhan (22 years old). Of the remaining players, 23 have never been called up to the Indonesian team. However, the training plan is affected by the local election schedule. It is not until November 28 that "Garuda" will have enough force and only have about 10 days to prepare for the opening match against Myanmar (December 9).

The Indonesian team has just gathered and had 2 training sessions.

However, coach Shin Tae-yong remained optimistic: “As discussed with Mr. Erick Thohir - President of PSSI, the AFF Cup is a fairly big tournament and a preparation step for the SEA Games next year. Indonesia not playing at Bung Karno Stadium is not a problem for me. Indonesia is the only team confident in using the U.22 team in the AFF Cup 2024. These are talented players and the future of Indonesian football. We will still unite and make history.”

It is expected that on December 4, the Indonesian team will have a practice match with Bali United. A day later, coach Shin Tae-yong and his team will travel to Myanmar to prepare for the opening match of the 2024 AFF Cup.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/vi-sao-indonesia-dot-ngot-doi-san-o-aff-cup-2024-hlv-shin-tae-yong-buc-tuc-185241129183113055.htm