Soroti Kerja Sama PSSI-Produsen Jersey Asing, KSPN: Keberpihakan terhadap Industri Nasional Dipertanyakan

JAKARTA - The President of the Confederation of Indonesian Workers' Unions (KSPN) Ristadi regretted the decision of the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) to cooperate with the Spanish sports apparel manufacturer, Kelme, as the official partner of the national football team jersey provider until 2030.

"For us, this decision raises big questions about PSSI's bias towards the national industry, especially in the midst of the domestic garment textile industry facing serious pressure," said Ristadi in an official statement, Saturday, March 14.

Ristadi said that the labor-intensive garment textile industry, which absorbs a lot of labor, is in need of real support from various parties. He assessed that many factories are facing a difficult challenge due to declining global demand, production cost pressures and competition from imported products.

According to him, in this situation, every policy, cooperation, and spending that can involve domestic production should be maximized to help maintain the sustainability of the garment textile industry and protect millions of workers who depend on the sector for their livelihoods.

"We assess that PSSI's cooperation with foreign manufacturers has the potential to eliminate opportunities for our domestic garment industry to obtain added value from major momentum such as the provision of national team jerseys," he said.

In fact, Indonesia has a very adequate textile and garment industry capacity, both in terms of production technology, material quality and experience in supplying various global brands. For example, such as reliable local jersey manufacturers Mills, Specs, Duraking and so on. The quality of domestic manufacturers is believed to be no less than that of foreign manufacturers.

"This decision also presents its own irony. On one hand, the government and various stakeholders are encouraging the movement to use domestic products to strengthen the national industry. But on the other hand, a sports organization as big as PSSI is actually giving a stage to foreign producers for products that are very identical to national identity: the Indonesian national football team jersey," he said.

Ristadi emphasized that support for the national industry does not always have to take the form of major policies. Sometimes, simple decisions such as choosing domestic manufacturers for the symbolic needs of the nation actually have a very large psychological and economic impact. According to him, the national team jersey is not just a match outfit, but also a symbol of national pride that should be a stage for the ability of domestic industries.

He also reminded the nationalistic spirit of the national team was not only measured by the spirit on the field, but also by PSSI's commitment to the national economic ecosystem itself. If PSSI has not been able to present great achievements at the international level, at least PSSI can show real commitment by supporting the strengthening of domestic industries that are struggling to maintain their existence which has many workers.

"We hope that PSSI can review the direction of the cooperation policy or at least open up a wider space for collaboration for the national textile and garment industry in the production and distribution chain of national team apparel in the future. For us, football is not just about the match, but also about how the momentum of national pride can also provide real benefits for strengthening the national industry, including for workers in the textile and garment sector," he concluded.

Previously, PSSI together with the Spanish sports brand, Kelme, officially launched the latest jersey for the Indonesian national football and futsal teams, Thursday, March 12. The launch also marked Kelme's cooperation as the official apparel provider for the Indonesian national team.

The new Indonesian national team jersey will be worn in a series of important international football match agendas. One of the main focuses is to face the 2026 FIFA Series tournament which will take place in March 2026.