TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – Minister of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs). Erick Thohir confirmed that he will run for president of the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) for the period 2023-2027.
Erick Thohir visited PSSI Headquarters, Gelora Bung Karno Sports Complex, in Jakarta on Sunday to submit its registration documents.
“As a child of this nation, I am motivated to change things… improve what is lacking. What PSSI needs to move forward today is the courage to push through the constraints and create an ecosystem that supports the growth of the national football industry,” he noted.
Thohir emphasized that Indonesia needs courage to be able to compete with other countries as well as fight and win in various international tournaments.
He said that many potentials are not well optimized to improve the success of the national football team and the sports industry in the country.
Therefore, he pointed out that courage is needed to build an honest and proud football industry in the country.
“Now, PSSI needs only one thing to move forward… that is courage,” he stressed.
Furthermore, Thohir highlighted a number of problems in improving the football industry in Indonesia, including inadequate youth coaching, poor management of domestic competitions, low integrity and quality of fair play in tournaments, as well as unprofessional management of the football industry.
“Selecting 11 people out of 270 million Indonesians to create a competitive (soccer) national team is not difficult if we solve all these problems properly. A country’s national team is only as strong as its league competition. Now is the time to take our football to the next level,” He said.
Attempts to improve the achievements of the national football team do not only concern the technical aspect, such as tactics and formations, but also issues of managerial, business, implementing law, but also political will and support, he continued.
It is known that the Minister of State Enterprises has a number of professional experiences in the football industry. He was the owner and president of Inter Milan, one of the prestigious European clubs.
He improved the management of the club, which was in crisis at the time, and secured the investment of Suning Holdings Group from China.
He was also the majority shareholder of DC United, an American Major League Soccer (MLS) club.
Choice of new PSSI of the chairman will be held at the PSSI Extraordinary Congress on February 16, 2023.
ANTARA
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