Najwa Shihab Joins PSSI's Anti-Mafia Ball Task Force Team For Guarantee From PSSI Chairman Regarding Independence

Member of the Najwa Shihab (left) Anti-Mafia Task Force with PSSI Chairman Erick Thohir. (Photo: PSSI Doc)

JAKARTA - The All-Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) announced the formation of the Anti-Mafia Ball Task Force. This team is filled with people who are outside the PSSI management.

One of them is a senior journalist, Najwa Shihab. Then there is the Chair of the 2015-2019 Presidential Cup Steering Committee Maruarar Sirait, football observer Akmal Marhali, and former Chairman of BPKP Ardan Adiperdana.

Najwa Shihab revealed that the Anti-Mafia Ball Task Force (Satgas) is an independent team assigned to eradicate the practice of fixing scores or mafia in Indonesian football.

"When asked by Mas Erick Tohir (PSSI General Chair) to be involved in this team (the Anti-Mafia Ball Task Force), which I first asked was whether this was an independent team? and it was given an independence guarantee for this team, because once again it was a crucial thing," said Najwa Shihab, as reported by Antara.

Najwa Shihab said that later anyone could report the alleged practice of match-fixing or mafia in football to the Anti-Mafia Ball Task Force. He also guaranteed that the reporter would certainly be kept confidential.

"So this team will maintain the confidentiality of anyone who reports, anyone who is willing to become a whistle blower and because we were also able to coordinate and have communicated even with law enforcement officials, the authority to follow up on it (report) to the legal realm, we will be able to encourage it to continue to the maximum," said Najwa Shihab.

Chairman of the All-Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) Erick Thohir previously said that he gave public figures the opportunity to be able to help his party in making Indonesian football cleaner.

"As the General Chairperson of PSSI, I am very open, opening initiatives where public figures can help monitor and clean up issues recorded in the community, namely we know that one of them is about setting the score for football matches in Indonesia, which have been recorded for too long," said Erick Thohir.