Jokowi Agrees with FIFA to Review National Football Stakeholders, Including PSSI?

President Jokowi (right) and FIFA President Gianni Infantino. (Photo via Antara / Hafidz Mubarak)

JAKARTA - President Joko Widodo has ensured that the government and FIFA will work together to review national football stakeholders after the Kanjuruhan tragedy, last October 1.

This was conveyed by Jokowi at a press conference after meeting FIFA President Gianni Infantino at the Merdeka Palace, Tuesday, October 18. At the meeting, the government and FIFA also ensured that the Kanjuruhan incident should not be repeated.

"We are also reviewing football stakeholders together. The government and FIFA want to ensure that the transformation process for Indonesian football runs according to the standards set", said Jokowi.

The signal for a stakeholder review clearly points to the national football governing body (PSSI), which has recently received a lot of pressure from Indonesian football fans to resign as a form of accountability for the heartbreaking tragedy in Malang.

Previously, the Joint Independent Fact Finding Team (TIGPF) for the Kanjuruhan tragedy had also recommended that PSSI General Chair Mochamad Iriawan and his staff resign from their respective positions.

PSSI is considered to be the party most responsible for the 133 fatalities in Kanjuruhan. The negligence of the Indonesian football federation and its sub-organizations is considered to be the trigger factor for the hundreds of victims.

Jokowi said that the government and FIFA will try to ensure that the national football transformation process will be carried out thoroughly to ensure that all aspects of the match run according to the established safety standards.

"We agree that the Kanjuruhan tragedy is a very important lesson for Indonesian football and also for the world of football and don't let this incident happen again, don't let the excitement of the audience lead to disaster", said Jokowi.

Before coming to Indonesia, Infantino had already corresponded with Jokowi. The correspondence discussed the steps for the transformation of football in Indonesia which included five important points.

The five points are stadium security and safety standards, protocols and procedures for securing supporters, intensive socialization involving supporters, reviewing match schedules, and the last point assistance from experts in the field of stadium safety.