Coca Cola Cup final in Aceh

JAKARTA (JP): Four Under-16 Indonesian soccer teams will compete at the semifinals and final of the 1997 Coca Cola Cup in Banda Aceh on Sept. 7 and Sept. 8.

The cup has been organized annually since 1986 to commemorate National Sports Day, Sept. 9, when Indonesia organized its first National Games in Surakarta in 1948.

The four teams are from Aceh, Jakarta, East Java and Bali. They cruised to the final four after beating the rivals in their respective groups.

The three groups are Group A, comprising Aceh, West Sumatra, Central Java; Group B, Jakarta, South Kalimantan and North Sumatra; and Group C, East Java, East Kalimantan, South Sulawesi and Bali.

The teams competed in the quarterfinals from Aug. 24 to Aug. 30 in three cities -- Banda Aceh, Jakarta and Surabaya.

Vice President Try Sutrisno is scheduled to attend and hand over the cup to the winner in Banda Aceh on Sept. 9.

"We hope the teams will perform their best, to attract spectators and also talent scouters, who will be there to recruit future players for national teams," the Indonesian Soccer Association's secretary-general, Nugraha Besoes, said yesterday. (yan)