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KONI puts sports back on the national agenda
The National Sports Council (KONI) will be asking for the government's support in enhancing Indonesia's medal prospects for the 2012 Olympic Games at a meeting scheduled with government officials on Thursday
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he National Sports Council (KONI) will be asking for the government's support in enhancing Indonesia's medal prospects for the 2012 Olympic Games at a meeting scheduled with government officials on Thursday.
Youth and Sports Affairs Minister Adhyaksa Dault and Home Affairs Minister Mardiyanto will be attending the meeting.
KONI chairwoman Rita Subowo said the participants would discuss how best to prepare Indonesia's team of athletes for the London Olympic Games.
KONI representatives from 33 provinces and members of sports associations - all regarded as key stakeholders in national sports - will also join the meeting at the KONI headquarters in Senayan, Central Jakarta.
"All national sports stakeholders will sit together to share their thoughts on how we should prepare the athletes for the 2012 event," Rita said.
The meeting coincides with the run-up to the next Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Laos in December, where Indonesia will be desperate to regain its standing in the region.
Lack of funds is likely to prompt KONI to whittle down the number of athletes sent to the games.
KONI secretary general Rosihan Arsyad said the national meeting would most likely delve into the issue further to make sure Indonesia improves its sporting performance on the international stage.
"We hope the national meeting will strengthen cooperation between KONI, provincial officials as well as sports associations to improve the quality of Indonesian sports," he said in a press release.
Rosihan said the presence of Minister Mardiyanto showed the government was committed to support KONI.
Minister Adhyaksa is expected to shed light on the government's long-term policy regarding sports development.
KONI spokesman Firmansyah Gindo said Murdiyanto would focus on how to manage sports funding from the national budget.
"Considering that Murdiyanto was once chairman of KONI in Central Java *during his leadership as governor in 1998-2007*, I believe he could deliver useful suggestions on how to manage funding from the government," he added.
Sports development at a national level currently seems to have lost its focus, with the Office of the State Ministry for Youth and Sports Affairs recently starting a training program that used to be exclusively run by KONI.
KONI signed sponsorship deals with Tokyo-based sports marketing agency Dentsu two months ago to garner funds for the athletes' training camps, and to send athletes off to international competitions to prepare them for the games.
