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New Indonesian soccer chief expected to settle match-fixing, fan violence
Mochamad Iriawan, a former West Java Police and Jakarta Police chief, is the first Indonesian soccer leader with police general background. The post has been dominated by figures from the Indonesian Military (TNI), including its last chief, Edy Rahmayadi.
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The elected Soccer Association of Indonesia (PSSI) chairman, Mochamad Iriawan (center), accompanied by elected deputy chairmen Cucu Soemantri (left) and Iwan Budianto, smiles as he shows a “thank you gesture” during the closing of the extraordinary PSSI congress in Jakarta on Nov. 2, 2019. (JP/Dhoni Setiawan)
F
rom match-fixing to improving the skills of Indonesia’s soccer players, newly elected Soccer Association of Indonesia (PSSI) chief Mochamad Iriawan, a police commissioner general, has a tough road ahead of him.
The men’s national squad currently ranks 171st in the world and Iriawan, better known as Iwan Bule, is expected to change that by doing more than his predecessors in his 2019-2023 term.
The former West Java Police and Jakarta Police chief is the first PSSI leader with police general background. The post has been dominated by figures from the Indonesian Military (TNI), including its last chief, Edy Rahmayadi.
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Iriawan, who was elected by a majority 82 votes out of 86 in Saturday’s election, said his win was also a victory for those wanting better Indonesian soccer, which has been bogged down with an array of problems.
He defeated 10 other candidates, six of whom walked out of the election because their “aspirations were not being heard”.
“With the victory, we must work hard to fulfill the responsibility that has been given to us,” Iriawan said shortly after winning the race.
