Zidane, Mourinho and Ancelotti in the "UEFA Council"

The European Football Association "UEFA" decided to establish a football council that includes 20 personalities, headed by French Zinedine Zidane, Portuguese Jose Mourinho and Italian Carlo Ancelotti.

The establishment of the "UEFA Council" was approved at the UEFA Executive Committee meeting in Lisbon on April 4, marking the first time that a football advisory body of this high level has been established.

The inaugural meeting of the UEFA Council will take place at UEFA headquarters in Nyon on 24 April.

The aim of establishing the "UEFA Council" is to give UEFA an institutional and independent voice in all matters related to football.

The council would have to propose ideas for developing laws or regulating football, which could then be turned into "bills".

Zidane, Mourinho and Ancelotti in

The council will be chaired by former AC Milan playmaker and current director of professional football in UEFA, Croatian Zvonimir Boban, and Italian Roberto Rosetti, head of referees.

In addition to Boban, Zidane, Mourinho and Ancelotti, the council will include other big names in the world of round ball, notably the Dutchman Ronald Koeman, the Danish Michael Laudrup, the former Czech goalkeeper Petr Cech, the Germans Jürgen Klinsmann, Rudy Fuller and Philip Lamm, the Portuguese Luis Figo and the Italians Paolo Maldini and Fabio Capello or Current England coach Gareth Southgate.

FIFA continues to punish Indonesia after it was stripped from hosting the Youth World Cup

The International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA) announced, Thursday, the freezing of financial allocations to the Indonesian Football Association, after stripping Indonesia of organizing the Under-20 World Cup, which is scheduled to be held this year.

FIFA banned the Muslim-majority country located in Southeast Asia from hosting the tournament, which begins on May 11, after the local federation announced the cancellation of the lottery, as the ruler of Bali refused to host the Israeli team.

The capital, Jakarta, witnessed protests last month, in which demonstrators carried the flags of Palestine and Indonesia, to demand that Israel not be allowed to participate in the tournament.

The withdrawal of the organization of the tournament caused anger among fans and players in the football-obsessed country.

FIFA said in a statement that it had "recommended temporarily restricting" the use of FIFA's development fund for Indonesia, and said it would consider lifting the ban after reviewing Jakarta's plans to develop the game locally.

Indonesian FA President Eric Thohir announced in a statement that the "administrative sanction" would have an impact on the federation's "operational needs", without providing further details, emphasizing the country's President Joko Widodo's instructions to develop the sport, including the renovation of more than 20 stadiums.

"Indonesia can avoid the harsh punishment of being expelled from world football. It's more like a yellow card than a red card," he added.

FIFA banned Indonesia from participating in international competitions in 2015 due to government interference.