[2] Brazil were the defending champions, having won their fourth title in 2019, but were eliminated after losing 3–0 to Argentina in the quarter-finals.

Peru were announced as the 2021 U-17 World Cup hosts following a FIFA Council meeting on 24 October 2019 in Shanghai, China.

[5] Chairman of the Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI), Erick Thohir, announced that they would propose eight stadiums to FIFA for hosting the tournament.

[6] Erick Thohir subsequently confirmed that both semi-final and final matches would be played at the Manahan Stadium.

The hosts Indonesia were automatically seeded to Pot 1 and into the first position of Group A, while the remaining teams were seeded into pots based on their results in the last five FIFA U-17 World Cups (with more recent tournaments weighted more heavily, and with five bonus points added to each of the 6 continental champions from the 2023 qualifying tournaments), as follows:[10] The draw took place at 16:00 CEST (21:00 WIB host time) on 15 September 2023 at FIFA headquarters in Zürich, Switzerland.

[11] The ceremony was presented by Mollie Kmita and conducted by FIFA Director of Tournaments Jaime Yarza, with the former footballers Júlio César, from Brazil, and Stephen Appiah, from Ghana, acting as draw assistants.

[12] The draw started with teams from pot one being drawn first and placed in the first position of their groups (hosts Indonesia automatically assigned to A1).

[14] The opening ceremony took place on 10 November 2023 at the Gelora Bung Tomo Stadium in Surabaya, preceding the Group A match between Indonesia and Ecuador.

The design uses red and white inspired from the flag of Indonesia, as well as turquoise to symbolize the sea that flows through the archipelago.

With new arrangements, this song also features three Indonesian soloists; Lyodra Ginting, Tiara Andini, and Ziva Magnolya (LTZ).