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Erick Thohir elected chairman of PSSI
The 52-year-old is one of the most influential figures in Indonesian politics.
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Erick Thohir, then president of Internazionale FC speaks during the launching of a digital product for football club Inter Milan in Jakarta on September 11, 2014. (AFP/Bay Ismoyo)
M
inister for State-owned Enterprises and former Inter Milan owner Erick Thohir was named the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) chief on Thursday, the organisation said, several months after one of the worst stadium disasters in the sport's history.
The 52-year-old is one of the most influential figures in Indonesian politics today.
He ran President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's 2019 re-election campaign, serves as Indonesian Olympic Committee chief and once owned European football juggernaut Inter Milan and DC United in the United States. His brother Garibaldi is one of Indonesia's youngest billionaires.
To address the many problems plaguing Indonesian soccer, Erick has promised a comprehensive overhaul of the organization.
“As I’ve said before, we have to fight against these dirty hands in soccer. They’re like a vicious circle that hampers [the progress of Indonesian soccer]”, said Erick last week, as quoted by Tribunnews.com.
He secured the majority of votes at a PSSI meeting in Jakarta on Thursday.
"Based on the vote tally... the general chairman of the PSSI for the 2023-2027 period is Mr. Erick Thohir," said chairman of the association's election committee Amir Burhanuddin.
