Soeharto to open 31st PSSI congress

Soeharto to open 31st PSSI congress

JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto said yesterday he is willing to open the 31st national congress of the All-Indonesia Soccer Federation (PSSI).

Soeharto also suggested that the three-day congress, scheduled to start on Dec. 27, be held in or near Jakarta, PSSI chairman Azwar Anas said after a meeting with the President.

At its last meeting, PSSI agreed to hold the congress in Medan, North Sumatra. But another opinion, like a presidential suggestion, can rule out the federation's agreement, Azwar quickly added.

Azwar reiterated that only the congress had the right to pick the next PSSI chairman.

People shouldn't speculate about this, he added. Whether or not Azwar should resume his PSSI chairmanship has been a subject of debate, including critics inside PSSI.

Those who believe he has been a successful chairman point to his ability to garner support from prominent businesspeople to launch the Indonesian League last year.

They also attribute the Primavera project, in which select booters were trained in Italy for two years, as a sign of his ability. Some of the booters, like top striker Kurniawan Dwi Yulianto, have won contracts with Swedish First Division League clubs.

Those who say he is a failure point to the ousting of the national team, which consisted mostly of those trained under the Primavera project, by South Korea in the qualifying matches for the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.

Azwar said that some people, including some PSSI senior officials, have asked him to stay.

"But if someone else better than me expresses his will to replace me, I will be the first person to thank him. I already have many things to do," Azwar said. (arf)