RI bids to host Asian futsal c'ship

JAKARTA (JP): The McDonald's futsal team is visiting the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) headquarters in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday to lobby the soccer body to appoint Indonesia as the host for the 2002 Asian futsal championships.

"We want to follow up on the request from AFC Secretary- General Peter Velappan who has listed Indonesia as a contender for the AFC futsal championships next year," Secretary General of the Soccer Association of Indonesia (PSSI) Tri Goestoro, who also joined the trip to Kuala Lumpur, said on Wednesday.

Should the lobbying work, Indonesia will be the fourth country to host the event after Malaysia (1999), Thailand (2000) and Iran, who will stage the event in July.

During the three-days visit, the team will meet the AFC futsal committee chairman Worawi Makudi and the honorary secretary of the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Paul Mony Samuel. The team will also study the organizing of the 2001 ASEAN futsal championships. (ivy)