"First of all , I will thank him for helping Indonesia so far so that we were not sanctioned. We hope that PSSI will not get sanction and we want its congress will be successful," Youth and Sports Minister Andi Mallarangeng said when accompanying President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono during a visit to Bali.
The minister hoped that the Congress of PSSI (Indonesian Football Association) which will be held in Solo, Central Java, on June 30, 011, would be successful.
During his stay in Jakarta, Prince Ali of Jordan will among other things pay a courtesy call on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
However, because President Yudhoyono will leave for Geneva on June 13 to attend a general assembly of the International Labor Union (ILO), Minister Mallarangeng will represent him in receiving Prince Ali.
The minister said he had talked several times with Prince Ali to ask for his help so that Indonesia would not get sanction from FIFA.
According to him, Prince Ali understood well about the football situation in Indonesia and wanted to help until Indonesia finds the best solution to address the PSSI managerial chaos.
Prince Ali will also hold meetings with the normalization committee and other parties related to the PSSI Congress implementation.
The minister hoped that the Solo congress would be able to select a new PSSI management. He said he would support whoever to be elected in the Solo Congress.
President Yudhoyono also hoped that the congress would run smoothly and successfully, he said.
FIFA had recently decided to form a Normalization Committee that would take over the task of organizing a congress from the PSSI`s executive board to elect a new PSSI chairman, deputy chairman and executive committee on May 20, 2011.
FIFA took the decision after its Emergency Committee believed that the PSSI leadership under chairman Nurdin Khalid was not in control of football in Indonesia as proven by its failure to control the run-away league (Liga Premiere/LPI) set up without the involvement of PSSI or by the fact it could not organize a peaceful congress whose sole goals were to adopt an electoral code and elect an electoral commission.
(SYS/F001)
Editor: Suryanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
