PSSI regrets chapters' response to U-15 league

JAKARTA (JP): Soccer Association of Indonesia (PSSI) secretary-general Tri Goestoro expressed regret over the response of the association's provincial chapters to the Bogasari Under-15 league.

Nineteen of the 26 chapters are competing in the league, but Tri said only a few of the chapters had made the effort to hold tryouts to field the best players possible.

"We are very worried because most chapters didn't stage competitions in their respective areas to select the best players to compete in the league," Tri said on Friday.

"We understand the Bogasari league has failed to maximize the potential of the chapters."

Tri also criticized chapters for being negligent in ensuring players did not falsify their ages. Fourteen players were banned from the league after they failed to produce their original birth certificates or diplomas to verify their ages.

The association will not sanction the players or clubs because the players were caught before play in the league had begun.

"The chapters officials might have been so busy with the administrative procedures that they ignored to check the ages," he said.

PSSI issued a set of rules on the screening and administrative procedures to be used by the chapters ahead of the start of the competition on April 29.

The rules say each player must be screened by a group of officials, including those from the PSSI chapter, the local police, the local office of the Ministry of National Education or the Ministry of Religious Affairs and a physician. The screening comprises an administrative and medical examination.

Tri said he and other officials would visit the chapters to help them improve their performances.

The first round of the league will end on Saturday. The quarterfinals will be from May 10 to May 13 and the final round will be held here from May 17 to May 20.

Participants are divided into four groups and are playing in Medan, Surabaya, Bandung and Banjarmasin.

On the pitch, the four teams in Group Four in Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, will fight for two berths in the quarterfinals on Saturday.

Host South Kalimantan will meet Bali while Yogyakarta will play South Sulawesi at 17 Mei Stadium, Antara reported on Friday.

South Kalimantan and Yogyakarta are at the top of the group with six points each after three matches, and they only need to earn draws in their matches to advance to the quarterfinals. South Sulawesi and Bali, who are even at four points each, must win to advance to the quarters. (ivy)