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Jokowi consoles U-20 players, talks up future chances
President Jokowi over the weekend visited Indonesia's under-20 national soccer team to console them following the country's failure to host the FIFA U-20 World Cup this year.
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A flower board message of condolences, of the type usually sent as a gesture of mourning, is left outside the Soccer Association of Indonesia’s (PSSI) headquarters in Central Jakarta on March 30, 2023, following FIFA's decision to strip Indonesia of the right to host the U-20 World Cup. (Antara/M Risyal Hidayat)
P
resident Joko “Jokowi” Widodo visited and consoled over the weekend members of the country’s Under-20 national soccer team, following their disappointment at being unable to play in the U-20 World Cup after FIFA stripped Indonesia of its hosting role for the youth tournament.
In a video posted by the State Secretariat on Saturday, Jokowi and Soccer Association of Indonesia (PSSI) chief Erick Thohir were seen visiting and conversing with players and staff members of the U-20 team during training at the Gelora Bung Karno stadium in Jakarta.
“I [visited] the Gelora Bung Karno stadium to give my encouragement to the U-20 team, so that they will not wallow in disappointment and sadness,” Jokowi told reporters.
“The U-20 [players] are still young, they still have a lot of chances [to play in international tournaments], such as the SEA Games, the Asian Games, the AFF [ASEAN Football Federation] Cup, or even the 2024 Olympics […] That’s why I told them not to be discouraged,” he added.
In line with Jokowi’s instructions, U-20 team manager Sumardji said that talks were currently underway to put all members of the youth team into one local soccer club so that they can continue developing together.
“In the near future, we will prepare a special club for members of the U-20 national team. When everything is ready, we will announce it," Sumardji said on Saturday, as quoted by kompas.id.
