TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Chairman of the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) Edy Rahmayadi admitted that Indonesia's football condition is far behind other countries based on several crucial aspects such as the number of players, coaches, referees, up to its infrastructure.

Edy said that he already communicated with President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo since he was appointed as chief of PSSI.

"I told the president that we do not have football players which we need. It lacks the quantity, let alone the quality," said Edy on Wednesday, December 6, 2018.

Edy broke down the numbers in his records regarding players and said that out of 250 million population, Indonesia only has 67,000 football players, a number he considered to be less than minimum compared to developed countries with greater population-to-football player ratio such as the Netherlands, Spain, and Germany.

The disparity could also be observed in the ratio of number of referees and coaches compared to other Southeast Asian countries. As of football stadiums, Edy acknowledged that Indonesia still lacks FIFA-licensed stadiums.

In a rather unusual manner, Edy pleaded to the public and media to stop the bullying often aimed at him upon his management skills. "Please don't bully me anymore. If you want to report a news, please report this. Please don't follow the crowd [upon bullying me] but rather pray for us, if it's not you, then who will support me?" the PSSI chairman pleaded.

IIL ASKAR MONDZA