Asks Pratama Arhan To Often Give News To Junior Players About His Actions In Japan, Menpora: To Be An Inspiration

Pratama Arhan ( Twitter.com/@pssi)

JAKARTA - The Indonesian Minister of Youth and Sports (Menpora) Zainudin Amali advised the Pratama footballer Arhan who will continue his career in the Japanese League 2 or J2 League to frequently inform the junior players in the country.

"Pratama Arhan must do it in order to inspire young Indonesian players," said the Minister of Youth and Sports as quoted by Antara, Saturday.

According to ZA, as he is affectionately known, the news that Pratama Arhan has been signed by a foreign team has made Indonesian football proud and also motivated, especially for young players.

"Young players must be able to motivate him, that if he is able to play well, there must be foreign clubs that look at him," he said.

The Minister of Youth and Sports also believes that there are still many young Indonesian players who have quality and do not rule out the possibility of playing in foreign clubs.

"I hope that Primary Arhan can play optimally in other people's countries and become stars there. We will continue to pray that his career will be bright and as expected," said the Minister of Youth and Sports.

Previously, the announcement of the transfer of Pratama Arhan to Tokyo Verdy from PSIS Semarang came out on Wednesday, February 16 from each club.

Arhan was contracted by Tokyo Verdy for two years, but PSIS said there was no fee for the transfer, aka free.

Tokyo Verdy is one of the most successful clubs in Japan by collecting two J1 League titles, five Emperor Cup winners status, six J League Cup trophies and one Asian Champions League champion.

The club, which was founded (1969) named Yomiuri FC, was first relegated to the J2 League in 2005 because that season they were in 17th position (out of 18 teams) in the J1 League.

However, Tokyo Verdy returned to the J1 League in 2008 before being thrown back into the J2 League to date. Arhan was determined to help his new club return to the J1 League.

Pratama Arhan is not the first Indonesian player to have a career in Japan. Before him, there were names like Ricky Yacobi, Irfan Bachdim and Stefano Lilipaly who had tried their luck in the Land of Sakura.