Exco PSSI Members: We Wish The COVID-19 Vaccination A Success So That The League Runs Again

JAKARTA - PSSI Executive Committee (Exco) member Ahmad Riyadh hopes that the government's COVID-19 vaccination program will run successfully so that the national football leagues, namely Liga 1, Liga 2 and Liga 3 Indonesia can run again.

"Hopefully the vaccination will succeed in making the level of COVID-19 transmission slope so that the league can be played again," said Ahmad as quoted by Antara, Tuesday, January 19.

According to the man who is also the head of the East Java PSSI Asprov, health factors determine the fate of the Indonesian soccer competition which has been suspended since March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

If the spread of COVID-19 can be suppressed, Ahmad Riyadh believes that the National Police will give permission to PSSI and competition operator PT Liga Indonesia Baru (LIB) to roll out League 1, League 2 and League 3.

"I realize that the league has not run more because of health factors, not safety. I hope the league will return to its pre-pandemic format. There is relegation, promotion and others. Normal. The difference is, during a pandemic, all matches are without spectators," he said.

Vaccination for COVID-19 in Indonesia has started since January 13, 2021. The government emphasizes that the main priority of vaccination is for health workers who are at the forefront of fighting the pandemic.

Even so, PSSI and 17 national sports federations have submitted the names of athletes, coaches and their officials to get priority vaccines.

The Ministry of Youth and Sports (Kemenpora) emphasized that all names on the priority list for vaccination are those involved in international competitions or tournaments. If not, then the human sports vaccination schedule is the same as the general public.

Meanwhile, regarding the 2020 League 1 and 2 Indonesia season, the two competitions could not take place because the National Police had not given permission to the crowd because the COVID-19 pandemic had not yet been controlled.

PSSI and LIB had expressed their wish for League 1 and 2 to be continued in February 2021. However, the absence of permission from the Police until mid-January 2021 made this wish difficult to materialize.

PSSI will also make the final decision regarding the fate of Liga 1 and 2 for the 2020 season, whether it is continued or stopped, in the Executive Committee (Exco) meeting which will take place in the next few days.