Looking For Football Young Seeds, PSSI And Persik Kediri Hold Competition For Youth

Internal Liga Persik Kediri 2024/2025 (Doc. ANTARA)

KEDIRI - The search for new Indonesian football is carried out in several cities. As was the case with PSSI Kediri who collaborated with Persik Kediri to hold soccer competitions for teenagers aged in the U-15 and U-17 Internal Leagues.

This competition was created as an effort to nurture soccer athletes from an early age. Hopefully they will have the opportunity to develop themselves to a wider arena.

"The goal is for the children of the live clubs to go to the national arena. The goal of this league will be an EPA (Elite Pro Academy) for the U-16 and U-18 Leagues," said the Head of Exco for the PSSI competition in Kediri City, Bambang Puraswidianto, as reported by ANTARA, Sunday, June 23.

Persik Kediri management representative, Titin Marti Sugiani, stated that Persik's internal competition was deliberately held to bridge the young player in Kediri to level to professional level so that Persik did not lack the best young talent from Kediri.

"We see the potential of the football player in Kediri is extraordinary. With this competition, what we are doing is targeting the age of 15 and the age of 17, it will not make Persik Kediri run out of players," said Titin.

According to him, this competition will be participated by 23 clubs for the U-15, 23 clubs and 20 clubs for the U-17, all of which are from football schools in Kediri.

The match will start on July 6, 2024 at the Brawijaya Stadium, Kediri, until early January 2025.

According to him, the competition was deliberately held in a long duration in order to see the players' abilities.

The selection process for looking for new players is considered unfair just a few times, but with a long competition, the abilities of these young people can be seen intensively.

Titin said that players who are allowed to participate in this competition are those who have been registered.

The coach was also given the opportunity to replace the players in leg 2, while in the first leg it was not allowed so that the players also showed their best abilities when competing.

A number of fields in the Kediri City area will be used for competition, but must be surveyed first by the Association of Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) Kediri.

This competition itself was enthusiastically welcomed by football schools in Kediri City.

SSB Bhayangkara Club Manager Putra Edy Hendro Purnomo considered this initiative very positive because it increased the potential or quality of football in the cities of Kediri and East Java.

"The collaboration between the City Ascots of Kediri and Persik is very appropriate to increase potential in the City of Kediri," said Edy.