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President gives a nod to sports minister to focus on soccer job
Youth and Sports Minister Zainudin Amali said President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo had given him permission to focus on his new position as deputy chairman of the Soccer Association of Indonesia (PSSI), raising speculation that he may step down from the Cabinet.
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Youth and Sports Minister Zainudin Amali delivers his remarks on Feb. 4, 2022, after the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) declared that Indonesia and Thailand's National Anti-Doping Organization (NADO) have complied with the World Anti-Doping Code. (Courtesy of kemenpora.go.id/Putra)
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outh and Sports Minister Zainudin Amali said President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo had given him permission to focus on his new position as deputy chairman of the Soccer Association of Indonesia (PSSI), raising speculation that he may step down from the Cabinet.
Zainudin’s statement came after he and fellow new PSSI leaders met with Jokowi at the State Palace on Monday to outline their future plans for Indonesian soccer.
“[Jokowi] has allowed me to concentrate on managing Indonesian soccer together with [PSSI chairman] Pak Erick Thohir, [deputy] Bu Ratu Tisha and fellow [executive committee] members,” Zainudin told the press at the palace, as quoted by Kompas.com.
He stopped short of saying that he might resign from his ministerial position. But if the Golkar Party politician were to step down as sports minister, it might pave the way for a Cabinet reshuffle.
Rumors of a reshuffle have been brewing since October 2022 after the pro-government NasDem Party declared their support for opposition figure Anies Baswedan for the 2024 presidential election.
Read also: NasDem stays in Cabinet as Jokowi hedges bets
Zainudin is not the only active minister sitting on PSSI’s roster, with Erick also still performing his duties as States-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Minister. On Friday, President Jokowi said he had no problems with his ministers leading sports associations as long as they could manage their tasks responsibly.
