TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) is seeking to synchronize their agenda with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to ensure no more conflict between national agendas and regional or global agendas, stated PSSI Chairperson Erick Thohir.

"We will synergize the agenda with the AFC as we understand that the global football agenda includes the FIFA Match Day as well as the AFC and AFF (ASEAN Football Federation) calendars. We also need to determine when the players will rest and when we must prepare the national football team," Thohir told reporters at the PSSI Provincial Football Association Gathering on Sunday.

He noted that any results from the gathering with provincial associations would be reported and presented to the AFC.

Meanwhile, the PSSI chairperson also highlighted ongoing PSSI efforts to initiate cooperation with several Asian national football associations to benefit all sides, including Australia, which has been included in the Asian zone.

"With its high quality, we also seek to study sports science from them," Thohir said. "(PSSI deputy head) Mr. Zainudin (Amali) often reminds us that Australia is among the best in that field," he said.

He said that cooperation and deals sought with foreign football associations are intended to help Indonesia catch up with global football development.

Following PSSI lobbying, several national associations, such as those in Japan, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, and the United Kingdom, have agreed to scale up the cooperation to a higher level, the chairperson said.

"We will discuss this matter with the Exco (Executive Committee) as, for instance, Japan has signed a cooperation agreement with Indonesia. In what aspects? It could be in the management, the referee, the general system, or others," Thohir explained.

Despite not knowing the exact period when the agreement would be realized, he affirmed that Japan, Australia, and the AFC are among the first parties to finalize their cooperation deal with Indonesia.

ANTARA

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