Jokowi, FIFA Agree to Examine Indonesian Football Stakeholders

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo on Tuesday said that his meeting with FIFA President Gianni Infantino agreed to conduct a thorough review of Indonesia’s football stakeholders. The meeting between the two took place at the Merdeka Palace in Central Jakarta. 

“We are also jointly reviewing Indonesian football stakeholders, the government together with FIFA intend to ensure the country’s football transformation process runs accordingly to standards that have been established,” said the President on October 18.

The President asserted his intentions to make this a momentum to improve the country’s football scene and, at all costs, avoid a recurrence of the disaster that happened in Kanjuruhan Stadium, East Java. 

"Don't let the joy of football match spectators end up becoming sorrow and disaster. We agree to carry out a complete football transformation," said the President. 

Jokowi refuses direct government intervention

However, President Jokowi refuses to have the government be directly involved in carrying out the transformation of football institutions such as PSSI. He said that it would exclusively be FIFA's intervention. The meeting between Gianni and Jokowi had been planned since last week. In today's meeting, the two talked for more than two hours about the transformation of Indonesian football.

FIFA will establish a temporary office in Indonesia for an indefinite period in an attempt to assist Indonesia to fix stadium security aspects.

M JULNIS FIRMANSYAH 

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