Hopes pinned on congress
to settle PSSI-KPSI conflict

Hopes are high that an upcoming joint congress will be able to settle the protracted conflict between the country’s two disputing soccer bodies and end the current dualism in national soccer.

“It is our hope that the congress will end the dispute between the national soccer organizations,” PT Liga Indonesia CEO Joko Driyono told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

PT Liga Indonesia is the organizer of the Indonesian Super League (ISL) under the Indonesian Soccer Rescue Committee (KPSI).

In the latest development of the ongoing soccer saga, Youth and Sports Minister Roy Suryo announced on Monday that both the KPSI and the Soccer Association of Indonesia (PSSI) had agreed to hold a national congress on March 17 to talk over the issue. The PSSI runs the Indonesian Premier League (IPL).

The announcement was made after the minister received a letter from the world soccer ruling body, FIFA, on Feb. 13. FIFA’s executive committee meeting is due to take place in Geneva with Indonesia’s soccer dispute on the agenda.

“With a month to prepare the congress, we will try our best to make it a success even if the KPSI is ultimately dismissed as a consequence,” Joko said.

The key issues that are expected to be settled at the congress include the unification of the two separate soccer leagues and federations, a review of PSSI statutes and the reinstatement of expelled executive committee members La Nyalla Mattalitti (current KPSI chairman), Tony Apriliani, Edwin Dwi Budiawan and Robert Rouw.

 “The upcoming congress is for the sake of the nation. We should prioritize the red and white,” PSSI chairman Djohar Arifin Husin said as quoted by kompas.com. He added that settling the conflict was necessary for Indonesia if it wanted to avoid possible FIFA sanctions.

PSSI secretary-general Halim Mahfudz said he was in Kuala Lumpur to consult with the Asian Football Federation (AFC) regarding the upcoming congress. “We want the congress to be conducted in accordance with regulations so that it does not violate the federation statutes as stipulated by FIFA,” he told the Post via text message.