RI soccer nears its goal of professionalism<\/p>\n
By Ivy Susanti<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): According to some people, life begins at 40. For
\nthe Soccer Association of Indonesia (PSSI), however, it seems
\nlife does not get started until well into the 60s.<\/p>\n
Just after celebrating its 69th anniversary on April 19, PSSI
\nwas forced to swallow a few bitter pills before deciding to
\nundertake a number of reforms in an effort to recall the glory
\ndays of 1956. This was the year when the national soccer team
\nparticipated in the Olympic Games in Melbourne, its first and
\nonly Olympic appearance, managing to secure a 0-0 draw with the
\nthen Soviet Union.<\/p>\n
In May of this year, the national team little resembled that
\n1956 team, suffering a humiliating 0-7 drubbing at the hands of
\nSouth Korea in the 2000 Olympics Group Eight prequalification
\nround in Seoul. Before this jolt of reality, Indonesia stood tied
\nwith South Korea atop the group with two victories, although
\nSouth Korea had the edge on Indonesia in goals scored.<\/p>\n
The embarrassment of the national team's lopsided defeat led
\nPSSI chairman Agum Gumelar to question the capability of the
\nnational team and reset new goals for the national squad.<\/p>\n
\"Considering the result, I realize our soccer team's place in
\nthe world. The last board of executives vowed to bring
\n(Indonesian) soccer onto the world stage, but I told the current
\nboard we could not make such a large jump directly,\" he said in
\nJune.<\/p>\n
\"First, we must gain supremacy in Southeast Asia before
\ndominating in Asia. Then we can move into the world arena.\" Agum,
\nwho was the governor of the National Resilience Institute at this
\ntime, said.<\/p>\n
This, however, is much easier said than done. At the Southeast
\nAsian (SEA) Games in Brunei Darussalam in August, the national
\nsoccer team failed to win the widely expected gold, losing to
\nVietnam 0-1 in the semifinals. Defending champion Thailand ended
\nup bagging the gold, while Indonesia defeated Singapore 4-2 in
\nthe bronze-medal match.<\/p>\n
Agum, who replaced Azwar Anas as PSSI chairman in October last
\nyear, apologized to soccer fans throughout the nation for this
\nfailure. This apology failed to stem calls from the public for
\nstructural changes in the organization and its training program.<\/p>\n
By the end of August, Agum bowed to pressure from soccer fans
\nand replaced German Bernhard Schumm with Nandar Iskandar as coach
\nof the national team.<\/p>\n
In September, Agum was elected chairman for another four-year
\nterm during PSSI's 32nd national congress. Agum, who was
\nappointed minister of communications by President Abdurrahman
\nWahid in October, named Tri Goestoro PSSI secretary-general and
\nappointed more people to the organization's board of executives.<\/p>\n
In November, Indonesia booked a berth in the Asian Cup final n
\nLebanon in November 2000 with a dashing 9-2 defeat of Cambodia in
\ntheir last Group 7 prequalification match here. This first
\ncoaching success for Nandar also helped flame Indonesia's hopes
\nfor Asian soccer supremacy.<\/p>\n
Autonomy<\/p>\n
PSSI's first step in reforming national soccer was to grant
\ngreater freedom to its 26 provincial chapters to raise funds and
\ndevelop young players across the country. Under the new
\nguidelines set during the organization's congress, the provincial
\nchapters were also obligated to stage competitions to discover
\nyoung talent.<\/p>\n
This decision was taken because PSSI was experiencing
\ndifficulties in finding talented young players for the national
\nteam. PSSI also change the name of regional commissariats --
\nwhich had served as PSSI branches in the provinces -- to regional
\nchapters.<\/p>\n
These regional chapters are also expected to run soccer
\nschools in their respective areas, and will be allowed to raise
\nfunds to finance their activities.<\/p>\n
Sponsorship<\/p>\n
The winds of change also blew through the Indonesian Soccer
\nLeague (Ligina). To improve the professionalism of the league,
\nPSSI set new regulations on sponsorships, disciplinary matters
\nand the transfer of players.<\/p>\n
Just before Ligina's sixth season kicked off early in
\nNovember, PSSI allowed each club to find its own sponsors. The
\nregulation was the result of complaints that subsidies from PSSI
\nnever or only a few of them that reached the clubs.<\/p>\n
But the new regulation is likely to be truly effective only if
\nthe government decentralizes its power and widens the scope of
\nlocal authority by giving provinces greater autonomy and greater
\ncontrol over their natural resources and fiscal policies.<\/p>\n
At that stage, each province will derive greater benefit from
\nthe exploitation of their natural resources, thus raising the
\ngeneral economic well-being of local residents and businesses,
\nincluding soccer clubs.<\/p>\n
Many clubs currently face difficulty in finding sponsors,
\nparticularly those clubs outside of Java, like PSBL Bandar
\nLampung and Persipura Jayapura. Top clubs, meanwhile, enjoy the
\nfinancial support of numerous sponsors, including Persebaya
\nSurabaya which is sponsored by Philips and Adidas.<\/p>\n
Tri Goestoro admitted PSSI owed the clubs quite a large amount
\nof money in promised subsidies. It still has to pay each of the
\n18 clubs which participated in the fifth Ligina season Rp 40
\nmillion ($US5,633), plus another Rp 15 million for each club
\nwhich finished the season in the top 10.<\/p>\n
The ongoing Ligina season saw plenty of action off the field,
\nwhich led to a heavy workload for the league's disciplinary
\ncommittee. The committee sanctioned six clubs for failing to
\ncontrol fans during matches. Four players and four referees also
\nwere sanctioned during the season.<\/p>\n
On the issue of the transfer of players, PSSI pledged to issue
\nguidelines on players' working terms and their transfer between
\nclubs across the provinces. These guidelines, however, are still
\nawaiting completion.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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