Receiving the Primary Service Star, FIFA President Believes Indonesia Will Become One of the Important Countries in World Football

Gianni Infantino, President of FIFA, received a Primary Service Star (photo: Instagram @gianni_infantino)

JAKARTA Gianni Infantino, FIFA President, has just received a Primary Service Star from the President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, on Friday, November 10, 2023, at the State Palace.

The award given by Jokowi was not without reason. According to the Chairman of the Council for the Title of Service and Honorary Signs, Mahfud MD, Infantino was awarded the Primary Service Star for his services towards Indonesian football.

Yes, Gianni Infantino has indeed started to focus his attention on Indonesian football in the past year. There have been three visits to the country in that time.

Starting from the biggest tragedy in Indonesian football, the Kanjuruhan Tragedy, the President of FIFA saw that many aspects needed to be addressed immediately.

No wonder, Infatino's initial campaign in Indonesia was a football transformation in October 2022.

The next visit a month later, Infatino attended the G20 Summit in Bali to monitor his project.

In the end, FIFA decided to have a representative office in Jakarta. In addition to the transformation, the approach taken by FIFA is also for the supervision of the World Cup for the age group.

This is my third time in Indonesia in approximately a year. This is probably the unique country I have visited the most in a short time," he said.

We also open offices in Jakarta and this is more than just an office. This is very difficult for the whole region. This is an important country. Indonesia is a big country," said Infantino, Friday, November 10, at the State Palace.

Infantino further has a basis why Indonesian football is so important. He saw that Indonesia had a great opportunity to play a role in world football.

Therefore, Infatino promised to continue to accompany Indonesia until the dream point of all Indonesian bal-balan lovers is realized.

Indonesia has the capacity, has passion. In the future Indonesia will become one of the leading football countries, not only in Southeast Asia, but also throughout Asia and the world.

Indonesia, as I said, is an important country in Southeast Asia with 280 million people and football fans number 1. When I came here last year also following a tragic (Kanjuruhan) event, we decided that we were increasing the presence of FIFA because this country deserves it," said the Italian.

We have an office here. We have many experts only for Indonesia, such as stadium safety and security, fighting score fixing, other football diseases, experts in organizing events, organizing competitions, and developing players. All these centers of excellence will be based in Jakarta and you will see the results, "said Infantino.

This year, Indonesia will start its journey as the host of the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup, where the Garuda Squad is one of the participants.

Infantino has seen for himself how mature Indonesia's preparations to become the host are. He advised not to be complacent because the transformation from various sectors is still ongoing.

In essence, Gianni Infantino asked the Indonesian government to collaborate with PSSI and FIFA to continue to focus on Indonesian football. Later, according to Infantino's prediction, Indonesia can grow and shine on the international stage through FIFA projects and approaches directly.