Philips offers to send RI booters to Eindhoven

JAKARTA (JP): Philips, the electronics giant, has offered to send Indonesian Football Association players to the Netherlands to train with the league club, PSV Eindhoven, for several months.

Company spokesman Latif Gau said players training for the coming SEA Games could join the program.

"This is a good opportunity for our players to improve their technical skills. A number of top players from America and Africa have trained with Eindhoven and have succeeded in playing at several international tournaments," Latif said.

He said only three players would be sent for the first stage of the program in March. "Eventually, other players will follow."

Latif said that selection of the first three players would be decided by the association and Agil H. Ali, the national team's manager.

Agil said Kurniawan, a former member of Primavera team, would be among the players sent to Eindhoven.

Primavera, the association's European training project, have been training in Italy.

Latif said Philips would bear all the costs of sending the players to Eindhoven. Philips is the main sponsor of the Dutch national team.

"We want to show our support for improving Indonesian soccer through this program," Latif said. (lnt)