The two-day event, attended by concerned stakeholders, will also discuss the recent deteriorating form of national teams and the stagnant development of the sport in general.

Those attending include top PSSI executives, Youth and Sports Ministry officials, National Sports Council (KONI) officials, soccer club representatives as well as representatives of supporters across the country.

Yudhoyono called for the congress to propose recommendations to speed up reform and improve the quality of national soccer.

However, supporter representatives — claiming to represent 30 soccer clubs — were more blunt in expressing their opinions.

Supporters have issued a list of recommendations for the congress to include in its conclusion.

The recommendations revolve around the urgency of reform or an overhaul of the soccer development system.

“This reform includes a change in the leadership of the PSSI, both at central and regional levels,” Ade Herawanto, one initiator of the discussion, said.

The statements from the representatives of supporters echoed similar calls already circulating even before the congress began.

Sumohadi Marsis, who heads the congress’ steering committee, earlier said the congress would formulate a recommendation for the PSSI to hold an extraordinary meeting to pave the way for the removal of PSSI chairman Nurdin Halid and his “cronies”.

The congress was mandated by Yudhoyono in February over concerns about the performance of the national soccer team and the state of the country’s soccer development.

Nurdin has been under public pressure recently to step down.

Nurdin won a second term in office in 2007 amid controversy over the fact that he had served two years in prison on corruption charges, a violation of FIFA statutes.

In addition, the PSSI has been criticized for failing to improve the quality of soccer, with the national soccer squad continuing to perform poorly, most recently the shock loss to hosts Laos in the group stages of the 2009 Southeast Asian Games, and the failure to qualify for the 2011 Asian Cup for the first time in 14 years.

In his opening speech, Yudhoyono did not criticize the PSSI, but instead called for the congress to act on public demands to show an improvement in the quality of the country’s soccer.

“I will wait for the congress to list recommendations for all of us for the benefit of our soccer,” he said, adding that the public wanted an evaluation on the quality of the nation’s soccer.

The President added that within five years, he wanted to see Indonesia become a “tiger of Southeast Asia” again, and in Asia in the following five years.

In the 1980s and early 1990s, Indonesia’s national team was an Asian powerhouse.

Currently, however, the country struggles to show good form, even against Southeast Asian opposition. It lags behind Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.

The congress organizing committee said that whatever the recommendations, the congress would convey them to FIFA and the AFC.

Popular

Kadin urges stability after Constitutional Court ruling

Jokowi says transition to new government to begi

BCA loan disbursement surges 17.1 percent yoy in first quarter