Aceh sets soccer crowd record

Aceh sets soccer crowd record

JAKARTA (JP): Undefeated Persiraja Banda Aceh set a new attendance record of 102,000 spectators during the first three months of the Indonesian soccer league in the Western Division, an official says.

The league's match inspector, Djohar Arifin, said yesterday a crowds averaging 13,000 turned out in the capital city of the country's westernmost province to watch their favorites playing at the Lampineung stadium.

The figure outstrips those of two Medan-based clubs, Medan Jaya and PSMS, whose spectators were estimated at 98,000 and 60,000 respectively. Both teams use the Teladan stadium as their home base. Another North Sumatra club, PSDS Deli Serdang, scored spectators numbering 39,000.

"It's fantastic," Arifin was quoted by Antara as saying. A couple of years ago the spectators taking seats in those stadiums numbered only in the hundreds." (amd)