PSSI abandons Bali plan over Tiger Cup<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The Indonesian soccer governing body (PSSI) has canceled the plan
\nto stage the qualifying matches of the upcoming Tiger Cup in Bali
\ndue to the below-standard of the stadiums, a top PSSI official
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
\"In the wake of the Bali bombing, we had formerly planned to
\nshift the qualifying matches to Bali as a token of our moral
\nsupport to the local people. But with only one month in hand, it
\nwould be impossible for us to make an overhaul effort on the
\nstadiums,\" Tri Goestoro, PSSI secretary-general, said after a
\ncouncil meeting of the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) here on
\nSunday.<\/p>\n
Tri said the 10,000 capacity Ngurah Rai and Kompyang Sujana
\nstadiums were still short of meeting the standard of holding an
\ninternational tournament.<\/p>\n
\"Seat capacity are limited, the changing room and the
\nfloodlight system are below standard. We have planned to make an
\nupgrade, but it would be impossible to meet the deadline with us
\nhaving only a month,\" Tri said.<\/p>\n
The 2002 Tiger Cup, the biennial soccer competition among the
\nSoutheast Asian nations, will be co-hosted by Indonesia and
\nSingapore.<\/p>\n
The qualifying matches will run from Nov. 15 through Nov. 23.
\nSemifinals stage is scheduled on Nov. 27 with the final on Nov.
\n29.<\/p>\n
Jakarta will host teams from Vietnam, Philippines, Cambodia
\nand Myanmar, while Singapore matches include Brunei Darussalam,
\nLaos, Malaysia and defending champion Thailand.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian team, with 24 players, was scheduled to take on
\nthe Singaporean team in Singapore on Sunday as part of the
\npreparation, according to Tri. There was no detail about the
\nresult of the match.<\/p>\n
\"They (the players) will depart from Singapore to Sydney on
\nTuesday where we plan to carry out friendly matches with four
\nlocal teams,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Speaking about the AFF meeting, Tri said the ASEAN body had
\ndecided to include Futsal and the under-14 category in addition
\nto the already existing U-18 and U-16 for next year's tournament
\ncalendar.<\/p>\n
Futsal will be hosted by Cambodia and the U-14 by Thailand.
\nThailand will also host the U-16 with Laos, while Myanmar and
\nVietnam have been appointed to play host to the U-18.<\/p>",
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