AFC urges Agum to take helm at PSSI<\/p>\n
Eva C. Komandjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC)'s secretary-general
\nPeter Velappan advised the Indonesian Soccer Association (PSSI)
\nto appoint KONI chairman Agum Gumelar to temporarily replace
\nNurdin Halid as PSSI chairman.<\/p>\n
KONI secretary-general Djohar Arifin said on Tuesday that
\nduring a meeting last week Velappan had asked Agum to take the
\nchair left vacant by Nurdin since last June. However a PSSI
\nofficial said its rules required an election for a new chairman.<\/p>\n
Nurdin was named as a suspect in a sugar smuggling case in
\nJuly and was later admitted to the hospital, allegedly on account
\nof ill health. Since then, the PSSI has been without a working
\nchairman.<\/p>\n
\"Peter Velappan has asked Agum to act as PSSI chairman
\ntemporarily while Nurdin is unable to perform his duties as
\nchairman,\" Djohar said.<\/p>\n
Djohar added that Velappan had stressed the urgency of someone
\nimmediately taking charge of the association due to upcoming
\nmajor events in the PSSI's calendar, such as hosting the Asia Cup
\nin Jakarta in 2007.<\/p>\n
\"Velappan was worried that the absence of a chairman might
\ndisrupt the PSSI's activities, including sending teams to
\ncompetitions abroad and hosting the Asia Cup,\" Djohar said.<\/p>\n
Agum was asked to take over Nurdin's post as he had experience
\nserving as PSSI chairman. He was chairman from 1998 to 2003.
\nCurrently, he is the PSSI's honorary chairman.<\/p>\n
\"I do want to help the PSSI and I am ready to do so. But only
\nif PSSI officials agree and if they all ask me to take over the
\njob,\" Agum said.<\/p>\n
However, PSSI secretary-general Nugraha Besoes said that
\nreplacing Nurdin with Agum would violate the organization's
\nrules.<\/p>\n
\"The honorary chairman cannot perform the work of the chairman
\nas both have very different responsibilities,\" Nugraha told The
\nJakarta Post.<\/p>\n
\"Personally, I want Agum to help us out but we can't just go
\nahead without having regard to the rules. A new chairman must be
\nelected by an extraordinary general meeting -- an acting chairman
\nis not provided for or recognized by the rules,\" Nugraha said.<\/p>\n
He added that the PSSI had no plans to convene an
\nextraordinary general meeting in the near future as Nurdin was
\nofficially still the PSSI chairman.<\/p>\n
Nugraha said that the AFC should not worry about the PSSI's
\nperformance as thus far the PSSI had never failed to meet its
\nobligations to send teams to scheduled overseas competitions,
\nsuch as the Asia Junior Cup in Kuala Lumpur this month.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/afc-urges-agum-to-take-helm-at-pssi-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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