Soccer mania: Hundreds of Indonesian soccer supporters hold banners, including one stating “We love the PSSI” before a match at the Surajaya stadium in Lamongan, East Java. Antara/Syaiful ArifIndonesia’s latest soccer match is pitting the country’s politicians against its children.
Yes, talking about soccer in Indonesia doesn’t have much to do with discussing tactics or feats of two teams of up to 11 players fighting for a ball on a giant field.
The most popular sport in the country is closely related to politics.
So if you’re talking about this sport, you will be undeniably relating it to politicians and their ambitions to sustain power.
Local politicians have long viewed soccer as a strategic tool to gain the support of the masses for their political interests.
History speaks for itself. Since the Indonesian Soccer Association (PSSI) was established in 1930 in Yogyakarta, the sport had been used as a political tool in this country.
The group of nationalists who initially set up the organization wished to promote a spirit of independence against the Dutch colonial power.
Since then, soccer and politics have become inseparable.
The New Order regime’s ruling party, Golkar, used PSSI to build support for the party. PSSI chiefs have traditionally been closely linked to the party.
Because of this link between soccer and politics, the future of this sport has sadly been sacrificed as PSSI decisions have always been politically motivated, with little or no intention of developing the sport itself.
As a result, there has hardly been any noticeable progress in Indonesian soccer. Bad infrastructure, a corrupt system and underwhelming coaches as well as players have tarnished the image of Indonesian soccer for years.
Despite this sad state of affairs, there is still a glimmer of hope for Indonesian soccer: a pool of young, talented soccer players.
It may come as a shock, but Indonesia has 18-year-old Syamsir Alam, 16-year-old Maldini Pali, 14-year-old Hanif Sjahbandi and many other young talented players who have shined on international soccer fields.
Syamsul is one of Indonesia’s rising stars who has flown to South America to join Peñarol, one of the top clubs in Uruguay. Maldini and Hanif’s outstanding performance has attracted the attention of a number of European soccer clubs.
These young boys share the same dream: to promote their country through soccer.
But they face a bigger challenge from their own politicians who unfortunately, have a different agenda when it comes to soccer.
And judging from the power these two groups hold, it doesn’t take a nuclear scientist to work out who is going to win this game.
Even housewife Nurhayati Akili knows the answer. The middle-aged woman, whose house is used as a base camp for young soccer players in Jakarta, understands all too well that it will be difficult for children to reach their dreams if dirty politics still get in the way.
The recent debacle at PSSI chairmanship race has deepened her concerns.
“My heart broke when I found out the voting didn’t work out, as it threatens the future of these children,” Nurhayati said, referring to five boys who stay at her house.
Ganesha Putra, the director of Villa 2000 Football Academy, reacted the same way upon hearing the news.
“I had just announced the names of three players from my academy who had been selected for the next AFC [Asian Football Confederation] competition in Malaysia. But upon hearing about the failed meeting, I cried, knowing these children may not go,” he said.
As we know, PSSI failed to select a new chairman at its latest meeting, which may lead to the world soccer authority FIFA sanctioning PSSI.
A sanction implies Indonesia would be banned from every international soccer tournament for an indefinite period of time.
This stalemate is putting the future of Indonesian soccer at risk because the country might no longer be able to take part in international competitions.
This would be a nightmare for young Indonesian soccer players as they wouldn’t be allowed to compete at the international level.
Even though FIFA has agreed to give PSSI until the end of June to pick a new chairman, there is still no guarantee things will work out.
When it was time for a change of guard at PSSI, the organization turned into a battlefield between the two ruling parties in the country, Golkar and the Democratic Party, which have been eyeing the association’s top spot.
These two parties are believed to be backing four candidates.
Former PSSI chairman Nurdin Halid and Nirwan Bakrie are candidates said to be affiliated with the country’s second largest party, Golkar. Meanwhile, the other two contenders, George Toisutta, a senior and a top army official, and Arifin Panigoro secured support from the Democratic Party.
The two parties have put forward these four names as candidates at the congress despite FIFA’s warnings against them.
FIFA considers Nurdin and Nirwan as inappropriate candidates because they failed to manage PSSI properly under the previous leadership, while Arifin and Goerge’s nomination was rejected because of their former affiliation with the Indonesian Premiere League, which is deemed illegal by FIFA.
The congress, however, went against FIFA’s recommendations and put forward these names as candidates for the next leadership, which resulted in a deadlock and placed the PSSI at risk of being sanctioned.
Given the intense political war currently waged in the PSSI body, it is no wonder many people doubt that Indonesia will meet the deadline despite the extension FIFA granted the association.
These gloomy prospects have made some of these children reconsider their future plans and dreams.
“Maybe I will just go back to school and give that my full attention,” said Maldini, one of the boys who lives at Nurhayati’s house.
The Kalimantan-born boy, who just went to Leicester City, the UK, last year for training, dreams of playing soccer abroad.
Rony Sjahbandi, the father of young soccer star Hanif, is also afraid a FIFA ban will destroy his son’s soccer career.
“Our children’s hopes and motivation will be sacrificed… Please set aside your political interests,” Rony has pleaded PSSI leaders.
Hanif is a talented young soccer player with a bright future. He has just come back from a two-week training session in Stoke City, England.
The young boy, who was selected as one of the best players in the 2009 ASEAN Soccer Federation (AFF) championship, has also gone to Manchester for a football summer camp.
Sharing the same dream as Maldini, Hanif wants to bring Indonesia to the World Cup Final one day. But will Hanif and Maldini’s dreams come true? Or will their ambitions will be thwarted by political interests?
Not happy: Members of the Revolutionary Guards Council camp out in front of PSSI headquarters in Senayan, Jakarta. JP/Wendra AjistyatamaTo highlight the concerns of these young talents, rising soccer star Syamsir sent a letter to PSSI leaders during their congress, pleading them not to sacrifice the dreams of Indonesian children for better soccer in this country.
“There are people with their own interests trying to destroy the dream of millions of children in Indonesia. Do we really deserve it?” Syamsir said in the letter sent from Uruguay, where he is currently practicing.
Like his friends, Syamsir is also afraid a FIFA ban will jeopardize his soccer career.
Even if FIFA doesn’t issue a ban, and PSSI settles on a new chairman, the coach for the young national team, Rahmad Dharmawan, believes the organization still has a long way to go.
“The organization must focus on giving young players better training. It must improve infrastructure
and implement good programs as well as improve the quality of coaches,” he says.
Dear politicians, can you just allow these children to win the game this time?
