Amid a national soccer crisis following FIFA'€™s suspension of Indonesia'€™s domestic tournaments and the country'€™s isolation from international competition, President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo kicked off the President Cup on Sunday afternoon at I Wayan Dipta stadium in Gianyar regency, Bali, in the hope of keeping soccer alive in the country by encouraging soccer competition.

'€œOur hope is that by having competitions rolling, whether it is the President Cup or the Independence Cup, it will bring back our passion for soccer,'€ Jokowi told reporters after the opening match, in which Sandi Darma Sutha, Sultan Samma and Lerby Eliandry led Bali United to a 3-0 win over Persija.

Another match was held on Sunday evening between Mitra Kukar and Persita. Many soccer clubs from the Indonesian Premiere League will now compete in 38 matches to be held in Bali, Bandung, Malang and Makassar by an organizing committee led by Erick Thohir '€” vice president commissioner of PT Mahaka Media (ABBA) and president of Italian soccer club Inter Milan.

Another ongoing soccer competition is the Independence Cup, which was also kicked off by Jokowi on Aug. 15. As many as 24 clubs from the main division will contest the tournament initiated by soccer clubs, the referee organization and transition teams.

Indonesia was banned by the world soccer body FIFA from international competition following the suspension of the Soccer Association of Indonesia (PSSI), a move regarded by FIFA as a form of unacceptable government intervention.

The PSSI was criticized by the Youth and Sports Ministry for not following the ministry'€™s recommendation to exclude Persebaya Surabaya and Arema Indonesia from the Indonesian Super League because of disputes over club ownership.

In his speech before the kickoff, Jokowi expressed his happiness that soccer competition was rolling once more in Indonesia, saying that soccer reform and its revival required patience, sacrifice and support from all related parties.

'€œIt is okay that we were sanctioned by FIFA. It is okay not to compete in international tournaments and to keep losing anyway,'€ Jokowi said, citing similar suspensions experienced by other countries that in turn led to much needed reforms. As an example, he cited the one-month month suspension suffered by Iran in 2006.

'€œOnce again, the revival of Indonesian soccer, the total reform of national soccer is a choice that we must take in order to build a better national soccer for the future,'€ Jokowi said.

Erick, who has said that there was no political motive behind his decision to organize the competition, stated on Sunday that '€œour main purpose was just to revive the soccer activities that had stopped. Not only for the soccer clubs, but for all soccer enthusiasts'€.

Jafri Sastra, the coach of Mitra Kukar soccer club, said that FIFA'€™s sanction was a sad thing for all soccer players and coaches. '€œThe sanction imposed on us by FIFA has deadened our brains,'€ he said on Saturday.

'€œOur hope, starting from this President Cup tournament, is that our national soccer will come back to life,'€ he said.

Persija coach, Rahmad Darmawan, expressed similar hopes. '€œThe sanction imposed by FIFA is like a broke bridge that soccer players must confront in order to get across the river. Once they are across, they will have come to a better place,'€ he said.

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