RI pro volleyball leagues to start next year
RI pro volleyball leagues to start next year
Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Volleyball in Indonesia is set to enter a new era with the
creation of a professional indoor league as well as a pro beach
volleyball league, beginning next year. Both leagues will be
enhanced by international players.
The plans for the new leagues were announced on Thursday with
the endorsement of a memorandum of understanding between PBVSI,
the country's volleyball governing body, and promoter m-lynx.
PBVSI was represented by chairwoman Rita Subowo and m-lynx,
which was established only three months ago, was represented by
its president Harry Kuntoro.
Under the contract, m-lynx will provide the competition
funding for the leagues which is expected be approximately Rp 18
billion.
The indoor volleyball season will run from Feb. 2002 until May
2002 and feature eight men's and women's teams from seven cities
-- Jakarta, Tangerang, Bandung, Semarang, Yogyakarta, Gresik and
Surabaya. They will each play home and away matches.
Unlike previous volleyball competitions here, the new leagues
will not put a ban on international athletes.
"It is mandatory for a club to include at least one non-
Indonesian player on their squad," Cahya Azis, a PBVSI official,
told The Jakarta Post.
Cahya is also an executive board member of PT Profesitama Pro-
League (PPL), the business entity assigned by PBVSI to manage the
league.
Players are expected to come from Asian indoor volleyball
powerhouses China, Japan and South Korea.
The beach volleyball circuit will see 16 men's and 16 women's
teams, where Brazilian and Australian players are expected to
greatly boost the level of competition on the beach.
"We will recruit international players in cooperation with
embassies, Indonesian-based foreign companies or expat coaches
who are employed here," Cahya said.
The competing teams are required to submit a Rp 100 million
enrollment fee to PBVSI.
The arrival of non-Indonesian players will almost certainly
result in an increase in the clubs' expenditures as international
recruits are expected to earn between US$1,000 and $2,000
monthly.
Financial aid will be available for the participating clubs
as well as lucrative cash prizes. However, the exact amounts have
not yet been disclosed.
The clubs participating in the league will not be announced
until after Nov. 25, the deadline for them to sign their
contracts with the promoter.