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Sports ministry speeds up draft to unfreeze PSSI
Imam Nahrawi (left)-JP/Wendra Ajistyatama - Agum Gumelar (right)-JP/R
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Imam Nahrawi (left)-JP/Wendra Ajistyatama - Agum Gumelar (right)-JP/R. Berto Wedhatama
The Youth and Sports Ministry has hastened its efforts to outline a draft for the revocation of the Soccer Association of Indonesia (PSSI) suspension, as the deadline falls on Friday.
The ministry is currently drafting a list of requirements that the PSSI will be expected to obey if the government agrees to unfreeze the organization.
'We have completed the draft and sent it to the minister [Imam Nahrawi],' the ministry's spokesman Gatot S. Dewa Broto said in a statement on Thursday.
The draft will be submitted to President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo as soon as Imam has approved it. The President will make the final call on whether or not to revoke the suspension.
The draft contains at least three conditions, Gatot said.
'The minister said that our initial draft with 12 conditions would be too harsh [for the PSSI to fulfill] so we cut it down to three. But they carry the same message,' he added.
The conditions require the PSSI to be in constant coordination with the government over the running of Indonesian soccer, to be accountable and transparent and to hold an extraordinary meeting to set up a new organizational structure.
Gatot called on all parties to be patient as unfreezing the PSSI would take time.
The government suspended the PSSI on April 18, 2015, due to a prolonged conflict between the association and the ministry.
The conflict was triggered by a disagreement over club eligibility for the Indonesian Soccer League (ISL). The PSSI rejected a recommendation by the ministry-sponsored Indonesian Professional Sports Body (BOPI) to exclude Persebaya Surabaya and Arema Malang from the ISL due to club ownership disputes.
All domestic competitions have since grounded to a halt and the ministry has demanded the PSSI reform its organizational structure.
The ministry's move to suspend the PSSI was seen by FIFA, the world soccer governing body, as an intervention and therefore it banned Indonesia from international competition.
The President's decision will be crucial for the future of Indonesian soccer. Indonesia will soon host the 2018 Asian Games and as the most popular sport in the archipelago, it can be presumed that Indonesian people would like to see their team compete.
If the suspension is revoked and FIFA subsequently revokes its sanction, Indonesia will regain its ability to compete in other international matches, including next year's Southeast Asian Games in Kuala Lumpur.
A revocation will also enable the PSSI to hold a full-season ISL, the top competition in the country.
Minister Imam played down the claim that Jokowi had agreed to reactivate the association.
'The President has yet to approve the annulment. He ordered me to study all possible aspects needed to revoke [the suspension] thoroughly,' Imam said as quoted by Antara news agency, referencing an earlier claim by PSSI ad-hoc committee chairman overseeing reform Agum Gumelar on Wednesday that the government was on the verge on unfreezing the association.
'Let's not twist the meeting with the President. We're still studying the options. We'll report to the President when we're done,' Gatot said.
Agum claimed that Wednesday's meeting with the President had resulted in good news and that he would immediately report to Zurich, the city where FIFA headquarters is located, as FIFA members are having an extraordinary congress in Switzerland for their reform agenda and a new chairman election.
Agum had urged the ministry to merge with the ad-hoc committee.
'We don`t want FIFA's sanction against Indonesia to last any longer as we realize that it may have an impact on Indonesia's position at a time when the country is set to host the 2018 Asian Games,' said Agum, who previously served as PSSI chairman.
Imam, however, denied that FIFA would make a decision on Indonesia's fate on Friday.
'The FIFA congress only discusses the election of the new president,' he said, adding that the ruling body would discuss the fate of Indonesia and Kuwait in May.
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