Potential of National Football Not Maximized

The potential of national football had not yet been maximized due to various problems that had not been fully resolved, such as commotion between fans and the “football mafia”, which was an open secret.

KOMPAS/AGUS SUSANTO

Chairman of the Election Appeals Committee (KBP), Gusti Randa accompanied by members announced the final list of candidates for the General Chairperson, Deputy General Chairperson, and Members of the PSSI Executive Committee (Exco) for the 2023-2027 period at a press conference at the GBK Arena, Jakarta, Monday (6/2 /2023).

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — The Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI) has been considered incapable thus far of managing national football, which has enormous potential. If it is managed properly, football has the opportunity to bring massive economic and social benefits to the nation.

In its 2022 report, Nielsen stated that 69 percent of the Indonesian population was interested in soccer. This means that around 189 million Indonesians are attracted to or interested in football. Inevitably, Indonesia is known as a "football crazy" country.

In line with this high enthusiasm is a very high economic potential of national football, for example, the top-tier Liga 1 competition. The Economic and Social Research Institute (LPEM) at the University of Indonesia (UI) business school once revealed that the accumulated turnover from one Liga 1 season reached Rp 1.35 trillion.

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According to LPEM UI researcher Mohamad Dian Revindo, the figure of Rp 1.35 trillion derived from the competition’s two final products, namely live stadium entertainment and television broadcasts. "The large circulation of money has a positive impact on triggering economic activity in other sectors, which can have a national economic impact of around Rp 2.6 trillion and create 25,000 jobs," Revindo said last weekend in Jakarta.

He emphasized, however, that this potential had not yet been maximized due to various problems in national football that had not been fully addressed, such as commotion between fans and the “football mafia”, which was an open secret. In addition, the PSSI was not serious about properly managing early athlete development, which could have its own economic impact.

“In the last few years, there had been a rise of football club businesses that middle-class families use to provide their children with sports activities. This has changed the role of football schools (SSBs), which used to be part of the player production chain for professional clubs. Now, not all children at SSBs want to become [professional] footballers," said Revindo.

KOMPAS/I GUSTI AGUNG BAGUS ANGGA PUTRA

Several candidates for the general chair of PSSI for the 2023-2027 period, Arif Putra Wicaksono (far left), Fary Djemy Francis (third from left), and Doni Setiabudi (fourth from left) attended a discussion entitled "National Football Caucus Turns On the Guts to Build PSSI", Monday (13/2/2023), in Jakarta. In the agenda, the general chairman candidates presented their ideas regarding the improvement of Indonesian football

Covid-19 pandemic

PSSI chairman Mochamad Iriawan admitted that his 2019-2023 work program had not run optimally due to several factors, including the Covid-19 pandemic. However, he said had started making efforts to improve the league by collaborating with the National Police’s Anti-Mafia Football Task Force, followed by holding the 2020 Liga 1 as scheduled on 29 Feb.

“I led PSSI during many challenges that rose and fell steeply, and then increased very sharply. The Covid-19 storm, which stopped many social activities, had a major impact, namely halting our football activities. However, the members of the exco [executive committee] and I don't want to give up, so that the league returns to normal gradually and the spectators can watch," said Iriawan.

He added that his leadership had resulted in several positives, such as the national team qualifying for the 2023 Asian Cup, after being absent since the 2007 edition. In addition, the women's national team competed at the 2022 Asian Cup. At the same time, Indonesia won the AFF U-16 Cup 2022. Indonesia's position in the FIFA rankings has also increased from 172nd (2020) to 151st (2023).

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Yogyakarta Provincial PSSI chairman Ahmad Syauqi Suratno noted that the 2023 PSSI Extraordinary Congress (KLB) to be held on Thursday (16/2) in Jakarta was an important moment to determine the future of Indonesian football. As such, voters must carefully consider the programs of the candidates for general chair, deputy chair, and other members of the PSSI’s 2023-2027 executive committee before making their selections.

“From the start, it is important to know who we will vote for at the KLB. The PSSI must create a long-term program that shapes the football culture by building values, systems and procedures," he said.

Anton Sanjoyo, who is on the Kanjuruhan Stadium Tragedy Joint Fact-Finding Team, said that national football reform needed to start by urging the elected chairman to amend the PSSI statutes/bylaws (AD/ART). He said the AD/ART had been a "tool" all this time for the PSSI management to be exclusive and limit the presence of professionals who really wanted to fix national football.

"After amending the AD/ART, the general chairman can more optimally carry out PSSI's main task, namely to improve the quality of competitions, which will have an impact on improving the quality of players and coaches, holding age group competitions in stages, improving the quality of referees, and improving the quality of the national team," said Anton. (Z05)

This article was translated by Kurniawan Siswo.