PSSI announces U-20 nominees<\/p>\n
Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
As many as 51 nominees were announced on Monday for the national
\nU-20 team by the Indonesian Soccer Association (PSSI), which says
\nthe team will spearhead its campaign to return to international
\ndistinction at the Hanoi 2003 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.<\/p>\n
The preliminary squad was picked from the U-18 Suratin Cup
\ncompetition, which concluded last October, with the PSSI
\nmonitoring team having given priority places to 14 former U-16
\nmembers who played in qualifying matches in Nagoya in 1999.<\/p>\n
PSSI spokesman Eddi Elison said that the soccer body would add
\nanother five representatives from Irian Jaya, the country's
\neasternmost province.<\/p>\n
\"From those invited, we already have 40 currently undergoing a
\ntest at Sawangan soccer ground in South Jakarta,\" Eddi said on
\nMonday.<\/p>\n
The squad is being supervised by newly appointed coach
\nBernhard Schumm. The German is not new to the Indonesian soccer
\ncommunity, having joined PSSI as its technical director before
\nbeing hired on a brief partnership basis for the 1999 SEA Games
\nteam.<\/p>\n
The national team is scheduled to take part in the ASEAN U-20
\nChampionship, which will be co-hosted by Thailand and Laos from
\nFeb. 20 to March 3 next year.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian team will also play in the preliminary round of
\nthe Asian U-20 Championship. Qatar will host the final round from
\nOct. 15 to Oct. 31, 2002.<\/p>\n
Among the 42 participating countries, Indonesia joins Group 9
\nwith Thailand, Hong Kong and the Philippines.<\/p>\n
Eddi said PSSI is out to make amends for the national soccer
\nteam's poor showing at the recent SEA (Southeast Asian) Games,
\nwhich has cost it a spot in the Indonesian sporting delegation
\ngoing to the 2002 Asian Games in Pusan, South Korea.<\/p>\n
\"Our main target is the 2003 SEA Games,\" Eddi said, signaling
\nthat the ASEAN and Asian U-20 meets would only serve as warmup
\nevents.<\/p>\n
The next SEA Games, the biennial multi-event sport competition
\namong Southeast Asian nations, will be held in Vietnam in 2003.<\/p>\n
PSSI also revealed a tournament calendar in the lower age
\ncategory for next year announced by the AFF (ASEAN Football
\nFederation) and AFC (Asian Football Confederation).<\/p>\n
The ASEAN U-17 tournaments, which Indonesia and Malaysia will
\njointly host, is scheduled to be held from Feb. 17 to 20, while
\nthe Asian Championships, in which Indonesia is drawn with
\nVietnam, China and Taiwan in Group 10, will be held in the United
\nArab Emirates from Sept. 6 to 22.<\/p>\n
The national U-17 team is currently training in Medan, North
\nSumatra, under coach Jim Bryden from England.<\/p>",
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