Agum pledges uninterrupted soccer league<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Newly appointed All Indonesia Soccer Federation
\n(PSSI) chief Lt. Gen. Agum Gumelar guaranteed on Saturday that
\nthe upcoming league would run as planned.<\/p>\n
In his statement read by the federation's deputy chairman in
\ncharge of organizational affairs, Eddi Elison, Agum said he found
\nno legitimate reason to stop the league despite the mounting
\neconomic and political concerns.<\/p>\n
\"The show must go on no matter what. If we have to wait until
\nthe country's economic and political situation returns to normal,
\nwe will never stage the league,\" Agum said as quoted by Antara.<\/p>\n
\"A premature end to the league will only disrupt all the plans
\nwe have already arranged, particularly our preparations for three
\ninternational competitions next year.\"<\/p>\n
Eddi read Agum's speech while opening a congress held by
\nPSSI's West Nusa Tenggara branch in Mataram.<\/p>\n
The national soccer team's international duties next year
\ninclude the Asia Oceania Olympics qualifying round, the Asian
\nChampionship and the Southeast Asian Games in Brunei.<\/p>\n
\"Building a strong team for those events is impossible without
\ngood planning. That's why we're out to keep the league going
\nuntil it finishes,\" said Agum, who is also governor of the
\nNational Resilience Institute.<\/p>\n
Indonesia is serving an indefinite suspension imposed by the
\nAsian Football Confederation (AFC) following a bizarre match it
\nplayed with Thailand in the Tiger Cup early last month. The AFC
\nwill decide the fates of both Indonesia and Thailand after
\ncompleting its investigation into the case later this month.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian league kicks off on Nov. 1, with 10 matches
\nplayed simultaneously across the country. A total of 28 clubs are
\nin the league, the fifth season since the reintroduction of
\nforeign players.<\/p>\n
PSSI terminated the league during the course of a season last
\nMay due to security concerns and the massive economic turbulence
\nthat forced several clubs to disband.<\/p>\n
The soccer body has struck a sponsorship deal with Hong Kong-
\nbased promoter Starpoint, but still has to provide each club with
\na Rp 100 million subsidy. (amd)<\/p>",
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