Malang - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has said a national movement was needed to move the national soccer team forward.
"We have to improve the national soccer team and be optimistic that it will gain its glory both at national and international level," President Yudhoyono said at a function to open the National Soccer Congress 2010 (KSN 2010) at Ken Arok sports stadium in Malang, East Java, on Tuesday morning.
The head of state was of the opinion that a national movement with optimism was the only way revive the national soccer team.
Therefore, he called on all people of Indonesia to have one determination to moving the national soccer team forward.
According to the president, the progress of the national soccer team was not an impossibility because Indonesia has the human resources, talent, spirit, and the history of success.
"With our big population we have talent and thus there is no excuse whatsoever that Indonesia will not one day have good soccer players," the president said.
Meanwhile, all Indonesia Football Association (PSSI) Malang City General Chairman Peni Suparto said KSN was expected to give birth to a national soccer team which would become an "Asian Tiger".
He expressed concern with the current performance of Indonesian soccer which is practically "helpless" at ASEAN level.
Therefore, he said the KSN would produce recommendations to improve the national soccer system and improve the performance of the national team in international events, especially in Asia.
The idea to hold the KSN in Malang came from the President who was rather disappointed with the performance of the national soccer team which had been constantly declining, and even at ASEAN level, Indonesia could not do much.
Malang was chosen to host the event because the East Java tourist resort city managed to usher two national professional teams to the 2009/2010 LSI, and the achievement of Aremania (Arema`s supporters) which had been awarded the best supporter tile.
Later in the afternoon, the Head of State was slated to watch a football match between Arema Indonesia and North Jakarta Persitara at the Kanjuruhan stadium in Kepanjen, Malang.
Source: http://www.antara.co.id
"We have to improve the national soccer team and be optimistic that it will gain its glory both at national and international level," President Yudhoyono said at a function to open the National Soccer Congress 2010 (KSN 2010) at Ken Arok sports stadium in Malang, East Java, on Tuesday morning.
The head of state was of the opinion that a national movement with optimism was the only way revive the national soccer team.
Therefore, he called on all people of Indonesia to have one determination to moving the national soccer team forward.
According to the president, the progress of the national soccer team was not an impossibility because Indonesia has the human resources, talent, spirit, and the history of success.
"With our big population we have talent and thus there is no excuse whatsoever that Indonesia will not one day have good soccer players," the president said.
Meanwhile, all Indonesia Football Association (PSSI) Malang City General Chairman Peni Suparto said KSN was expected to give birth to a national soccer team which would become an "Asian Tiger".
He expressed concern with the current performance of Indonesian soccer which is practically "helpless" at ASEAN level.
Therefore, he said the KSN would produce recommendations to improve the national soccer system and improve the performance of the national team in international events, especially in Asia.
The idea to hold the KSN in Malang came from the President who was rather disappointed with the performance of the national soccer team which had been constantly declining, and even at ASEAN level, Indonesia could not do much.
Malang was chosen to host the event because the East Java tourist resort city managed to usher two national professional teams to the 2009/2010 LSI, and the achievement of Aremania (Arema`s supporters) which had been awarded the best supporter tile.
Later in the afternoon, the Head of State was slated to watch a football match between Arema Indonesia and North Jakarta Persitara at the Kanjuruhan stadium in Kepanjen, Malang.
Source: http://www.antara.co.id