Elite Pro Academy Held Again, PSSI Chairman: The Players Are Strong And Tall, Hopefully They Can Be Seeds For The National Team In The Future

Elite Pro Academy (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - The Elite Pro Academy officially started at Field A Gelora Bung Karno, Jakarta, Monday, as an event to recruit young talents for the future national team.

After officially opening the Elite Pro Academy, PSSI General Chair Mochamad Iriawan said that many participants in this year's competition were of high stature, which is expected to be able to fill the needs of the national team.

"This is an opportunity for us to look for young seeds who will later join the national team. Later, there will be a team of coaches and a talent team that will assess them," Iriawan said to the media crew in Jakarta, Monday.

"Earlier we saw that the players were strong and tall, some of them even reached 186 cm in height, hopefully they can become the seeds of the national team in the future," he added.

The Elite Pro Academy was held again by PSSI this year by competing against two age groups, namely U-16 and U-18.

The U-18 league starts rolling this Monday, while the new U-16 league will start tomorrow. All competitions will be held in Jakarta, namely Field A Senayan and training fields 1 and 2 Jakarta International Stadium (JIS).

Elite Pro Academy U-16 and U-18 were followed by 18 Indonesian League 1 club teams, namely Dewa United, Persita Tangerang, Borneo FC Samarinda, Persikabo 1973, RANS Nusantara FC, Persib Bandung.

Then PSS Sleman, PSIS Semarang, Persik Kediri, Persija Jakarta, Persis Solo, Arema FC, Persebaya Surabaya, Madura United FC, PS Barito Putera, Bhayangkara FC, PSM Makassar and Bali United FC.

Last year's edition of the Elite Pro Academy group U-16 was won by PSM Makassar U-16, while the runner-up position was won by Persib Bandung U-16.

Meanwhile, last year's U-18 age group champion was won by Bali United FC U-18, followed by Persib Bandung U-18 as runner-up.