RI may not send soccer team to 13th Asian Games
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)