TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search results
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search resultsAnalysis: Erick’s political future at risk amid Indonesia’s World Cup woes
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Soccer restructuring: Soccer Association of Indonesia (PSSI) chairman Erick Thohir speaks during the federation’s congress on June 4, at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Jakarta. A key outcome of the meeting was an agreement to strengthen coordination between the government, PSSI and regional associations. (JP/Nur Janti)
W
ith Indonesia’s national soccer team failing to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Erick Thohir faces intense pressure as chairman of the Soccer Association of Indonesia (PSSI). The setback may also threaten his role as Youth and Sports Minister in President Prabowo Subianto’s cabinet, a position now seen as vulnerable given his lack of formal political party backing and the apparent move to expel former president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s allies from the government.
Indonesia’s World Cup campaign ended in the fourth qualifying round after consecutive losses to Saudi Arabia and Iraq. These disappointing results dashed hopes of a historic qualification despite the national team’s earlier strong performance in the third qualifying round, highlighted by a 2-0 victory over Saudi Arabia in Jakarta and a 0-0 draw in Jeddah.
That positive momentum was largely credited to Shin Tae-yong, the South Korean coach who built and nurtured the national team from 2020 to 2025, before being controversially replaced by Patrick Kluivert. Shin was recruited during the tenure of former PSSI chairman Mochammad Iriawan, a retired police general who led the association from 2019 to 2023.
Erick dismissed Shin and appointed Kluivert early this year, arguing that the former Dutch soccer star would better connect with Indonesia’s growing pool of naturalized players, most of whom are of Dutch origin. However, the decision was widely criticized as premature and destabilizing, as the team had been performing well and Kluivert’s coaching credentials remained largely unproven.
The PSSI’s ongoing push for player naturalization was one factor behind Erick’s decision to restructure the national team’s management with more Dutch-linked figures. Ironically, Erick has a poor track record with Dutch coaches, most notably Frank de Boer, whom he hired during his tenure as president of Italian giant Inter Milan.
Andre Rosiade, a lawmaker from the Gerindra party and an advisor to the Semen Padang soccer club, publicly called for Kluivert’s dismissal. Andre criticized the coach’s failure to qualify Indonesia for the World Cup and his “disrespectful” behavior in remaining seated on the bench instead of joining the team to thank supporters after the defeat to Iraq.
In the end, the PSSI and the national team’s coaching staff, including Kluivert, officially agreed to end their collaboration early through a mutual termination mechanism. The agreement was signed between the PSSI and the members of the coaching team, who had previously been bound by a two-year contract.
