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The road to World Cup glory: Investing in Indonesia's youth
The potential benefits of investing in young players go beyond just financial gain. It has the potential to bring national pride and unity to Indonesia.
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Saddil Ramdani (center) of Indonesia kicks the ball during the AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2022 football match against Philippines at Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila on Jan. 2, 2023.
(AFP/Jam Sta Rosa)
The FIFA World Cup 2022 has ended, but Indonesian people’s dream about their national team competing on such a big stage someday will never fade. But how can Indonesia become a serious contender in the world of soccer?
What I am proposing is a program for Indonesia named LOLOS (Leveraging Optimization Leveling Output Supremacy). In Indonesian, lolos means to go through or qualify.
Under supervision of the Indonesian Soccer Association (PSSI) as the governing body of the sport, LOLOS allows each province to send a talented 10-year-old player to receive government support, including coaching, benefits, nutrition, housing and schooling at a boarding school or academy.
So, we have 38 players from 38 provinces from all over Indonesia. Each of them will be honed by a concrete methodology or curriculum that is already set up. They will juggle not only soccer but also academics.
By starting this program at a young age, players will have the opportunity to become top-level players by the time they reach their prime and be well-prepared to represent Indonesia on the international stage.
While this kind of investment is not cheap, with estimates putting the cost at around Rp 3 billion (US$197,500) to Rp 5 billion per player, it is expected to have a return period of about 10 years (the length of the program). At that point, the players will be around 21 and ready to be "harvested" by clubs.
