RI may not send soccer team to 13th Asian Games
JAKARTA (JP): The National Sports Council may not send the national soccer team to the 13th Asian Games next year.
The council's vice chairman, Arie Sudewo, said yesterday that although the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) wanted to finance the team through the quadrennial event it needed the council's approval to compete.
"If the association wants its team to compete in the Asian Games, it has to wait for the council's decision. We've decided to only send potential medal winners to the event, based on their achievements in Southeast Asia, Asia or the world," he said.
Indonesia aims to improve its ranking in the Games, where it only finished 11th out of the 42 competing nations in the 1994 Games in Hiroshima.
Arie said the council had yet to receive an official report from the association about any ban imposed by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
The AFC banned the council from staging international events for six months and fined it US$8,000 because of spectator violence during the 19th SEA Games men's final between Indonesia and Thailand. It also declared the Senayan Main Stadium a "high- risk" stadium.
The association also has yet to pay $89,000 it owes in allowances to the competition's soccer officials.
"The council and the organizing committee will call the association's officials about the allowances. In the pre-Games meetings, the organizers informed the association about our allowance standards," Arie said.
The organizers provided $35 to each referee per day. But the AFC stated that soccer referees must receive $100 each er day.
Training
PSSI, however, has decided to maintain the SEA Games team in a long-term training center for the Asiad next year.
Association technical director Nirwan D. Bakrie said Thursday that long-term training was the most appropriate way to build up a strong team.
"We have set a target of at least being a semifinalist in the Bangkok Games. If we observe our team's heydays in the 50's, '70's and the 1991 SEA Games, our preparations were centered around long-term training," Nirwan said, as quoted by Antara.
Nirwan said the training would start in December under coach Henk Wullems.
Commenting on the failure of the soccer team in the 19th SEA Games, Nirwan said this was due to the short preparation time of only two-and-a-half months.
"The players only practiced five times a week so the preparations were minimal. Our team, nevertheless, played well and received positive support from the public," Nirwan said.
As to the long-term training, Nirwan said that PSSI had to spend a lot of money, particularly on the players' honorariums and transportation.
He said the Asian Games was a very important event for both PSSI and Indonesia since it would be a barometer of the nation's soccer progress.
"We only hope that the Indonesian Sports Council will send the national soccer team to next year's Asian Games. During the 1990 and 1994 Asian Games, Indonesia did not send the soccer team because there was no chance of us gaining a medal," Nirwan said.
Despite the AFC sanctions, PSM Ujungpandang's Asia Winners Cup match will still be staged in Ujungpandang, South Sulawesi, today, Nugraha Besoes, PSSI's secretary said Wednesday prior to the sanctions being imposed on Thursday.
"Whatever the sanctions on Indonesia, the Asian Winners' Cup match will still be staged in Ujungpandang.
PSM is due to play the Royal Thai Airforce (RTAF) at the Mattoangin Stadium. The RTAF team arrived in Jakarta Thursday and went straight to Ujungpandang. (yan/lnt)