Thohir, along with PSSI Deputy General Chair Zainudin Amali, in Tokyo, on Monday, met with JFA President Tashima Kohzo to convey a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for cooperation between the two football federations.
"This collaboration will develop programs for our young, senior, and women's football players. Moreover, this will develop our refereeing system, infrastructure, the domestic league, and of course, the national team," Thohir noted in a press conference on Monday.
The PSSI chairman also said he was impressed at the way in which JFA had been developing Japanese football, with a supportive infrastructure and system.
"Of course, we want to build our domestic football, and we will learn from you (JFA) to build a better national team," he affirmed.
In addition, the state-owned enterprises (SOEs) minister shed light on sports facilities that will be centered in Indonesia's new capital city (IKN) Nusantara, with equipment that can facilitate the development of football.
"Hopefully, this cooperation will benefit Indonesian football. Specifically, we will also focus on cooperation with Japan for the women's national team. Japan has a good track record with regard to their women's national team that has won the U-16, U-20, and became the world champion as well," the minister stated.
Regarding development of the domestic league, Thohir noted that he would use the J-League management as a benchmark and develop a refereeing system in collaboration with Japanese referees.
"Apart from that, we will also collaborate to benchmark the management of our domestic football league with J-League that continues to improve. Moreover, the referee is also important. We will use referees from Japan, and we are waiting for the names," he revealed.
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Translator: Fajar Satriyo, Resinta S
Editor: Sri Haryati
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