FIFA, AFC help salvage soccer in Aceh<\/p>\n
Slobodan Lekic, Associated Press\/Banda Aceh, Indonesia<\/p>\n
A maze of drainage ditches, water pipes and mounds of dirt
\ncrisscross the pitch at Banda Aceh's Lampineung Stadium, home of
\nthe Persiraja football club. The stands are mostly stacks of
\nwarped boards, which dozens of construction workers are removing
\nin preparation for a major renovation.<\/p>\n
Soccer's international governing body (FIFA) and the Asian
\nFootball Confederation (AFC) are financing repairs to the
\nfacilities in preparation for the team's return to the Indonesian
\n1st Division for the first time since last year's undersea quake,
\ntsunami and subsequent relief operations devastated the site.<\/p>\n
\"We have to thank FIFA for helping us in our time of need,\"
\nsaid Burhanudin Amin, a Persiraja official supervising the works
\non the monsoon-drenched stadium. \"Without them, this club would
\nhave died in the tsunami.\"<\/p>\n
The 15,000-seat Lampineung Stadium was badly damaged by the
\nearthquake that struck a year ago on Dec. 26. The huge wave that
\nspread across the provincial capital also washed over the field,
\nleaving only the forlorn-looking goalposts standing.<\/p>\n
Spanish and other foreign troops, who arrived a few days later
\nwith heavy equipment to help with rescue and relief operations,
\nfurther damaged the site. They bivouacked at the stadium, setting
\nup makeshift warehouses for humanitarian supplies on the pitch.<\/p>\n
As the rescue effort gradually wound down, FIFA and the AFC
\nlaunched a US$10.5 million Tsunami Solidarity Fund for soccer
\ninfrastructure reconstruction in areas affected by the tsunami.
\nThis included financing for numerous projects in Sri Lanka, the
\nMaldives and Thailand, where a Tsunami Memorial Football Center
\nwill be built.<\/p>\n
In the Maldives, relief financing was directed into repairs to
\nthe damaged headquarters of the national soccer body and its
\ntraining center, while in Sri Lanka 13 separate reconstruction
\nprojects were funded.<\/p>\n
Much of the money in Aceh was spent on donations of soccer
\nequipment for the many traumatized children, as sport and play
\nwas considered essential to help their recovery. FIFA and the AFC
\nalso sent delegates to set in motion coaching and refereeing
\ncourses, and soccer clinics for homeless kids as well as local
\ntournaments were set up.<\/p>\n
Still, there has not been a single official match in Aceh
\nsince the tsunami, and the three teams that used to play in
\nIndonesia's 1st, 2nd and 3rd Divisions are hoping to return to
\nnational competitions when they resume in February.<\/p>\n
In preparation for this, he Tsunami Solidarity Fund is also
\nfinancing repairs to soccer pitches in the outlying towns of
\nBireun and Langsa.<\/p>\n
Nuzuli Ibrahim, deputy head of the Indonesian Sports
\nConfederation in Aceh, said that despite the help received so
\nfar, and the insistence of the national soccer body that Acehnese
\nclubs should return to competition, it was still difficult to
\nreconstruct the teams and get the players motivated to
\nparticipate.<\/p>\n
\"The teams are not back to speed,\" he said. \"Players have not
\nplayed in a long time, coaches have left, stadiums are still
\nunfinished and money is short to support the program.\"<\/p>\n
But on an optimistic note, Ibrahim said help was still
\narriving, sometimes in unexpected forms.<\/p>\n
\"For instance, Bosnia - another country familiar with tragedy
\n- had just offered to send a coach, and maybe a couple of players
\nto help out Persiraja with its return to league competition,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/fifa-afc-help-salvage-soccer-in-aceh-1447893297",
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