Indonesian League kicks off next month

BANDUNG (JP): The chairman of the Soccer Association of Indonesia (PSSI), Agum Gumelar, said on Wednesday evening that the association would stage the sixth Indonesian League starting from Nov. 7.

Agum announced the decision during a dinner with PSSI's team for the Asia Cup after it beat Persib Bandung 2-0 in a tryout to prepare for the qualifying round of the cup in Hong Kong in late October.

Agum, who is also governor of the National Resilience Institute (Lemhanas), said newly appointed officials must consider many factors which could help participating teams, especially in financial factors, because of the varying zone divisions.

Agum named transportation costs as the main problem for clubs throughout the country.

"You can imagine the budget that must be provided by a team in Irian Jaya to fly to Kalimantan. It's really different compared to in Europe, where each country can be reached by train," he said.

Agum said PSSI would await political developments in the country, especially in the results of the presidential election from Oct. 20 to Oct. 22.

Student rallies and riots in the capital forced multinational companies to withdraw their interest in sponsoring clubs here. FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) still ban foreign teams from visiting Indonesia.

PSSI secretary-general Trie Goestoro told The Jakarta Post that soccer match rules in Indonesia were in accordance with FIFA standards. Many problems have occurred due to the inconsistent application of the rules for the vested interests of some parties.

Trie cited the transfer of a player which was already planned in detail. However, there were still obstacles because of the intervention of many people.

In Yogyakarta, Persebaya Surabaya tied 2-2 with Indocement Cirebon in the Group B round robin in the fourth Sultan Hamengku Buwono IX Cup at Mandala Krida Stadium.

Persebaya clinched a semifinal berth by finishing first in the standings with only one goal difference with Indocement, which also qualified for Saturday's final four.

In Group A, home favorite PSIM Yogyakarta made it to the semifinals by beating Gelora Dewata 2-0 to lead the standings with four points, followed by Gelora with three points.

Persebaya's striker Ariadi scored in the 11th minute but Jaldesir Jesus Dos Santos of PSIM equaled 1-1 in the 40th minute.

In the second half, Budi of Persebaya scored past PSIM goalkeeper Herlambang in the 55th minute. Dos Santos scored the equalizer in the 85th minute. (43/44)