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The president, popularly known as Jokowi, was speaking to
reporters at the state palace after meeting Gianni Infantino,
head of world soccer governing body FIFA.
"Kanjuruhan stadium in Malang...we will demolish it and rebuild
according to FIFA standards," he said.
The deadly stampede after a league match in the city of Malang
on Oct 1 has been blamed on police firing tear gas in the
stadium, a crowd control measure banned by FIFA.
The president said he had agreed with Infantino on significant
changes to how the sport was managed in Indonesia.
"We agreed to thoroughly transform Indonesian soccer," he said.
"Every aspect of preparation...needs to be based on FIFA
standards."
The meeting between Jokowi and Infantino comes after Indonesia
and FIFA agreed to form a joint task-force in the wake of the
stadium tragedy, and as the country prepares to host the
Under-20 World Cup next year.
Speaking alongside Jokowi, Infantino said FIFA's first priority
was to ensure the safety of both players and fans in the
Southeast Asian nation.
"This is a football country, a country where football is a
passion for over 100 million people," he said. "We owe it to
them that when they see a match they are safe and secure."
Infantino, who presented the president with a red FIFA jersey
with his name printed across it, said the global soccer body
would work closely with the government to ensure all stadiums
met safety requirements, and that the Under-20 World Cup ran
smoothly next year.
Under pressure to explain what caused one of the world's
deadliest stadium disasters, a fact-finding team formed by the
government released a report last week which concluded that the
"excessive" and "indiscriminate" use of tear gas was the leading
cause of death.
As fans attempted to exit the stadium after the defeat of the
home side Arema FC by Persebaya Surabaya, they were caught in a
deadly crush, with many, including more than 40 minors, dying
from asphyxiation.
The report also identified other contributing factors, including
the stadium being filled beyond capacity, locked exit doors, and
a push by league officials to hold the game at night to secure
better ratings for a local broadcaster, despite a request by
police to hold a match between fierce rivals during the day.
The fact-finding team also said that more than three hours of
CCTV footage about an hour after the match had been deleted. The
team has requested that police provide this footage.
The team also called on the head of the Indonesian Football
Association to resign.
(Reporting by Stanley Widianto and Ananda Teresia; Writing by
Kate Lamb; Editing by Ed Davies and Raju Gopalakrishnan)
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