A Sporting Chance
Imagine this: Indonesia wins the Asian Cup in July to be hailed as
regional soccer champions, with sights then set on the 2010 World Cup
in South Africa. Manchester United gets anxious and Real Madrid
revises its tactics to combat the threat from afar. Could it really
happen here, asks
Duncan Graham.
If Indonesia rises to
the soccer challenge, it would no longer be the butt of the joke in
sports, an also-ran even compared to tiny nations like Singapore, but
able to build teams renowned for excellence.
These lofty dreams aren't exclusive to Indonesians. Australian
entrepreneur and soccer fan Geoffrey Gold has also been giving his
imagination a workout. He thinks Indonesian soccer is currently in
its "blackest period" but there could be light ahead if synergy can be
developed with its southern neighbor.
Gold has been commissioned by the Western Australian (WA) government
to talk to clubs in Surabaya and Malang. He will report on how soccer
can be made the catalyst for regional development in Indonesia using
the long-established formal relationships between WA and the province
of East Java.
There's been a “Sister State” agreement in place since 1990. It
includes sport along with commerce, tourism, education and culture.
But till now the big-ticket issues have taken priority.
If everything clicks in the Gold plan, Australian skills in running
and marketing soccer, coaching players (male and female), sports
medicine, training youngsters and improving facilities could be made
available to Indonesian clubs. In return the teams Down Under could
promote their brand names in Asia.
"With the entry last year of Australia into the Asian League there's
now a sport that Indonesians can understand and share," said Gold.
"In the past Australia has been better known for rugby and Australian
Rules football, but soccer is rushing to the front line.
"Soccer in Australia has undergone huge changes in the boardrooms and
the field during the past few years. Once it was seen as the
plaything of ethnic groups. Now the Socceroos are a united force in
the sporting world.
"These changes could really improve relationships at all levels.
Indonesians are fanatical about soccer. Australia is internationally
recognized for its sporting skills and resources and has much to offer
its neighbor to lift the quality of the game."
Things here are getting better – though slowly. Proposed management
restructuring and the Asian Cup contest are the main drivers, along
with the anger of fans tired of seeing their team lose.
The Senayan stadium has been given a US$10 million (Rp 90 billion)
face-lift and should be able to seat almost 90,000 people enjoying
modern facilities. Sports administrators want other regions to follow
suit. Till now the comfort of fans has been the last thing on the
minds of many clubs.
Instead their attention has been focused on a more basic need –
money. There are 36 teams in Indonesia's Premier League. All but
four are funded by regional governments, often out of welfare budgets.
The national government has ordered this practice to stop. What could
justify taxpayers' rupiah earmarked for the local poor being channeled
into the pockets of high-wage players, including big names from
overseas?
The obvious answer is vote buying. What mayor or regent wouldn't want
tens of thousands of soccer supporters reckoning they're great guys
because they've helped the local lads knock out a rival team –
particularly at election time.
Next year (or so the plan goes) there'll be no more slurping at the
public trough. Instead teams will have to find their own fodder.
Gold reckons this is a good move because it will allow creative and
progressive managements the chance to get their act together, be truly
professional and better promote their product.
"Because the teams had this regular source of money, supporters and
sponsors were considered unnecessary," he said. "At some regional
grounds the fans are treated like animals, with nowhere to sit and
disgusting toilets.
"If facilities are improved women and families will feel more
comfortable about attending matches."
Ground conditions aren't the only hassle. At the moment Indonesian
soccer suffers a severe image problem with fans linked to hooliganism
– once the English disease.
A feature at some events is a vicious brawl between the police,
supporters and their rivals. That might be a thug's idea of a good
day out, but law-abiding citizens who love soccer would rather not
take the risk of seeing their kids trampled and car torched.
Next year the Soccer Association of Indonesia is introducing rules to
create Super and Premier Leagues, each of 18 teams, and set new
standards of safety, security and accountability. These will include
sound financial backing and programs to train youngsters properly.
Malang's Arema is one of the few that don't get government rupiah, a
point made often and vigorously by club chair Satrija Budi Wibawa.
Arema relies on sponsorship from a big-name cigarette brand
headquartered in Malang. Other clubs are bound to go knocking on the
tobacco czars' doors, but that may not be a healthy move.
In neighboring nations like Malaysia, Thailand, Australia and
Singapore tobacco links to sport are banned. If Indonesia wants to
play on the world stage it will have to quit its addiction to cash
from ciggies.
The Indonesian League is also funded by a cigarette manufacturer – but
no nicotine names are on the Asian Cup sponsors' list. Instead the
backers are airlines, hotel chains, electronic goods companies, makers
of power tools and sports gear.
These were the advertisers prominent in the recent match between
Sydney and the East Java team Persik Kediri at Surakarta, won 2-1 by
the locals. No tobacco ads could be seen on the telecast.
Although he's been involved with Indonesian business since the mid
1980s, Gold only recently realized the importance of soccer in Asia
when he saw a game in Kuala Lumpur featuring English team Birmingham
City.
"Till then I'd mixed with expats who were only interested in rugby and
Aussie Rules," he said. "The enthusiasm for soccer and English teams
in particular throughout the ASEAN region is huge.
"People want to see professional soccer. At the end of a hard day's
work this is their catharsis. It's the tribalization of the modern
world. When I came back to Indonesia I suddenly saw the obvious. But
the game hasn't been well run or marketed."
If Gold's report is positive and his recommendations followed then
formal links may be forged with Australian 11s like A-league team
Perth Glory. Indonesian national teams have already used the
facilities in WA to hone pre-match skills.
"The question raised in Indonesia is money, the issue in Australia is
security," said Gold. "When we can sort these out then everything
else will be about football."
Big Time, Small Chances
The contest to decide Asia's top soccer team will be held at Bung
Karno Stadium in South Jakarta on July 29. It's being promoted as the
biggest sporting event ever staged in Indonesia, expected to draw an
international TV audience of close to one billion.
Quarterfinals will be played in Jakarta and the other host countries,
Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam.
At the moment hopes of Indonesia making an international mark any time
soon seem fanciful indeed. Although Indonesia will be playing in the
Asian Cup it has earned its place not through merit but because it's
one of the four host nations. The hot favorite is Australia.
The 46-member Asian Football Confederation headquartered in Malaysia
runs the Asian Cup.
The first Asian Cup match was in 1956 and it's contested every four
years. The trophy has been won three times each by Iran, Japan and
Saudi Arabia. Singapore won in 1984. So far Indonesia has never made
it to the finals.
For more details of matches, times and locations see
www.afcasiancup.com
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