T

he Indonesia Soccer Rescue Committee (KPSI) elected a new chairman and deputy chairman for the Indonesian Soccer Association (PSSI) during an extraordinary meeting at the Hotel Mercure in Ancol, North Jakarta, on Sunday.

La Nyalla Mahmud Matalitti was elected chairman and Rahim Soekasah became the deputy chairman. Both will serve in the posts until 2016.

But the new leadership has deepened the conflict among the members of the body as, at the same time, PSSI members held an annual congress in Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan, to discuss a plan to reconcile the PSSI-sanctioned league, the Indonesian Premier League (IPL), and the breakaway Indonesian Super League (ISL).

“I’m planning to end the dispute within Indonesian soccer ... and make the Indonesian soccer squad the Asian tiger,” La Nyatta said after being announced as the new PSSI chair.

“Djohar Arifin [Husin, outgoing PSSI chairman] is no longer recognized by two-third members of PSSI that are here.”

Attending the Ancol meeting were 81 of the 101 voting members from 26 local soccer federations and club representatives of 12 ISL clubs, 12 in the main-division, 13 from the first-division, 12 in the second-division and five clubs from third division.

The congress also voted in nine new members to the executive committee, namely Akhmed Zaki Iskandar, Diza Ali, Erwin Dwi Budiawan, Hardi Hasan, Djamal Aziz, La Siya, Roberto Rouw, Tony Aprilani and Zulfadli.

KPSI chief Tony Aprilani said that the extraordinary meeting was held due to Djohar’s disappointing performance in managing soccer.

Djohar was elected to the post in July last year.

However, opposition from other PSSI members has grown following several controversial moves, including the decision to acknowledge the previous breakaway league, the IPL, and the disapproval of the former official league, the ISL.

In Palangkaraya, PSSI secretary general Tri Goestoro claimed that 94 out of 97 voting members attended the annual congress on Sunday.

The world soccer body, FIFA, has ordered the PSSI to hold the annual meeting before March 20 to avoid sanctions being applied.

The meeting was ordered in a bid to solve the conflict that has engulfed the PSSI.

The outgoing PSSI chairman praised the meeting as “beautiful, because it was full of spirit for the change of Indonesian soccer”.

The meeting, which was held at the Aquarius Hotel, raised several points on national soccer development, including the plan to merge the PSSI-recognized competition with the ISL.

“We really hope that the recognition of the ISL can get a positive response,” Djohar told a press conference in Palangkaraya on Sunday, as quoted by kompas.com.

“We’re serious in calling all parties to come home. We can talk more about technical things [about the future league], but it should be in line with the requirements from FIFA that said [that the league should be] under the control of the PSSI,” he added.