President Jokowi Doesn't Give Directions, Menpora Invites Anyone to Nominate Himself as Chairman of PSSI to Replace Iwan Bule

Menpora Zainudin Amali. (Doc. Kemenpora Site)

JAKARTA — The Minister of Youth and Sports (Menpora) Zainudin Amali invited anyone to run for the position of General Chairperson of PSSI. He said, there was no name entrusted by President Joko Widodo (Jokowi).

The election for the general chairman and board members will be held at an extraordinary congress (KLB) on February 16, 2023. Several names have surfaced.

Even recently, news circulated that there had been "directives" from President Jokowi regarding the successor to Mochamad Iriawan or Iwan Bule who currently serves as Ketum PSSI. However, this was denied by the Menpora.

"Anyone who wants to run as General Chair of PSSI in the upcoming KLB is welcome. There are no directives for anyone, let alone the President directing for a certain name", said the Menpora on the ministry's official website.

Amali emphasized that PSSI members who have voting rights (voters) choose their best leaders to improve national football. Moreover, Indonesia will host the U-20 World Cup in the middle of this year.

"This year, we will host the FIFA U-20 World Cup, for the President to ask all parties concerned to prepare as well as possible because that will be our big capital if one day we want to nominate ourselves to host the World Cup. FIFA (senior)", he said.

Anyone who wants to compete as general chairman of PSSI must submit himself or be submitted by voters. However, so far no names have been submitted.

The position of Iriawan and his staff, who were elected in 2019, should only end at the end of this year. However, the KLB process was then accelerated on the recommendation of the Tragedy Kanjuruhan Malang Joint Independent Fact Finding Team (TGIPF).

This recommendation is because PSSI is considered to be the party most responsible for the tragedy that occurred after the Arema vs Persebaya Surabaya match and killed at least 135 people.