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Special team sets out to end FIFA suspension
As Indonesia faces the grim prospect of having no national soccer team at the Asian Games in 2018 after being suspended by FIFA from international competitions, President Joko âJokowiâ Widodo will form a special team to lobby the world soccer body to have the sanction lifted
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s Indonesia faces the grim prospect of having no national soccer team at the Asian Games in 2018 after being suspended by FIFA from international competitions, President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo will form a special team to lobby the world soccer body to have the sanction lifted.
The government's determination to find an amicable solution to the quagmire was expressed during Jokowi's meeting with visiting FIFA and Asian Football Confederation (AFC) executives on Monday.
'The President told FIFA and AFC representatives that he was not happy with the performance and reputation of the PSSI [Soccer Association of Indonesia]. Therefore, reforms are urgently needed in order for our soccer team to gain prominence in international competitions,' said Presidential Chief of Staff Teten Masduki.
'While PSSI has not responded in good faith to our demands for reform, the President fully accepts the reasons behind the government's decision to freeze the organization, and we believe FIFA has accepted our reasoning.'
Teten said the President would soon form a special team to work closely with FIFA in finding a solution on the status of the PSSI and eventually allow Indonesia to return to international tournaments.
'In the next couple of days, members of the team will be announced. They will communicate with FIFA or the AFC to find solutions,' he said.
Youth and Sports Minister Imam Nahrawi issued a decree suspending the activities of the PSSI on April 18 in the wake of the organization's refusal to exclude Persebaya Surabaya and Arema Indonesia from the Indonesian Super League (ISL), as demanded by the ministry due to the clubs' dual ownership.
FIFA viewed the ministry's decree as illegitimate government interference in soccer associations, and after its call for the cancellation of the decree was unheeded, it banned Indonesia from international tournaments.
The Jakarta Administrative Court (PTUN) decided in July that the decree on the freezing of the PSSI was void. The disputed parties are now awaiting a Supreme Court ruling.
Prior to meeting Jokowi, the delegation that includes FIFA executives Kozo Tashima of Japan, Prince Abdullah Ibni Sultan Ahmad Shah of Malaysia and AFC executive Mariano Araneta of the Philippines met with Imam.
According to Imam, the delegation was stunned to realize the scale of 'debauchery' plaguing national soccer management by the PSSI.
Imam cited match-fixing, gambling, unpaid player salaries and the absence of transparent financial management as some of the issues in the PSSI. 'They were shocked to find out the sheer scale of debauchery. They said they would dig deeper into the matter,' the National Awakening Party (PKB) politician said.
Politics have been widely cited to be behind the PSSI's problems. For the past 15 years, most top PSSI officials were non-professionals linked to the Golkar Party, now the second biggest party, and the Democratic Party of former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
Current PSSI chairman La Nyalla Mattalitti has close ties with the influential Bakrie family, whose head Aburizal is the chairman of Golkar.
Imam said FIFA and AFC had responded well to the government's concerns and the urgent demand for reform in soccer management.
'They also agreed that with 250 million people, it is about time that Indonesia can display quality soccer with the planned reform,' he said.
Indonesia is among FIFA's biggest markets in terms of merchandise, licenses and audience, contributing millions of dollars to the association's revenues.
