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PSSI under ‘der panzer’ Erick
Erick's goal is crystal clear: Rebuilding Indonesian soccer to shoot for the ambitious 2046 FIFA World Cup host bid.
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New chief of Soccer Association of Indonesia (PSSI) Erick Thohir gestures during a meeting with the federation’s executive committee members at the PSSI Headquarters in Jakarta on February 18, 2023 (Courtesy of PSSI/-)
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s many had expected, State-owned Enterprises (SOEs) Minister Erick Thohir secured the top post at the beleaguered Soccer Association of Indonesia (PSSI) with a unanimous win in Thursday’s election.
And he seems to really know what he should do, as evident in his quick response and thorough approach to deal with the soccer crisis as soon as he took over the hot seat. On Saturday, Erick announced PSSI had just formed an ad-hoc committee overseeing supporters, infrastructure and national squads.
One of the main reasons behind the ad-hoc formation was a supporter-related incident in Semarang, Central Java, on Friday. Fans of home team PSIS Semarang went on a riot that day, allegedly because they were barred from watching their team take on Persis Solo in their premier league Liga 1 match for security concerns. The unrest was a reminder of the deadly stampede in Kanjuruhan Stadium in Malang, East Java, four months prior, which claimed 135 lives.
“We need fans’ involvement to reform our soccer. We have to be serious about this,” Erick said.
The situation is truly pressing as Erick, along with President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s youngest son Kaesang Pangarep, co-owns the Surakarta-based club Persis. Soccer riots are indeed among long-overdue issues that PSSI has remained unable to address.
In addition to the soccer-crowd matter, Erick has shown interest in women’s representation within the country’s soccer ecosystem.
Erick, a former chief of National Olympic Committee of Indonesia (NOC Indonesia), plans to revise the PSSI statutes to include between 20 and 25 percent of women’s representation within PSSI. It may not necessarily be a display of concern about gender-parity, but Erick clearly makes a difference.
The idea was mainly influenced by International Olympic Committee (IOC) that requires at least 30 percent of women in each administration.
“We can, for example, go for women referees? Based on my experiences, we tend to get an immediate effect once we push women for leadership,” Erick said as quoted by Tempo.co recently.
Needless to say, Erick enjoyed strong support in his quest for PSSI leadership. As a Cabinet member, he received President Jokowi’s blessing to take the soccer job. And his main goal is crystal clear: Rebuilding Indonesian soccer to shoot for the ambitious 2046 FIFA World Cup host bid.
Some parties may have expressed worries Erick’s move to take over PSSI would be considered a foul as far as FIFA statutes are concerned. The statutes say “member federations must be free from legal and political interference in their respective countries”.
Nevertheless, the possibility is less likely to happen due to “a gentlemen agreement” between President Jokowi and FIFA boss Gianni Infantino when the latter visited Jakarta last October.
Infantino met Jokowi in connection with Indonesia’s hosting of upcoming FIFA Under-20 World Cup. During the visit, both leaders agreed to work hand-in-hand to push Indonesian soccer, in line with Presidential Instruction (Inpres) No. 3/2019.
According to the instruction, the President tasked related ministries and institutions with “taking coordinated and integrated steps according to their purview in order to improve [Indonesia’s] soccer achievements nationally and internationally”.
Like when Erick successfully put Indonesia under the continental, or even global, spotlight due to his role in running the 2018 Asian Games, a continental level of Olympic Games, the 52-year-old seems to have good soccer cards up his sleeves.
Given how he navigates his ministerial duty relatively smoothly, plus his passion for soccer and sports in general, we can stay hopeful about how Erick will manage national soccer. Not to omit the fact that he is among the favorites in next year’s presidential race.
Surely only time will tell, but with his vast experiences in the world of sports, Erick certainly has much potential. We should, therefore, give him a chance and wish him luck.
