A high-level Asian Football Confederation 'Vision Asia’ team concluded a five-day visit to the Indonesian cities of Bandung and Yogyakarta on Friday during which it assessed the status of football there in order to prepare a strategic development plan to boost the sport. The two cities have been selected by the Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI) as pilot cities.
The ‘Vision Asia’ team’s main focus was on the level and number of competitions and grassroots and youth development, with the objective being to create models for football development in Bandung and Yogyakarta, which will be duplicated later in other Indonesian cities.
The team found out that Bandung in West Java was a hotbed of football but suffered from a shortage of football facilities and training pitches. The number of competitions and matches available for the clubs and players was below requirements.
Yogyakarta, the city where the Football Association of Indonesia was founded in 1933, is also plagued by a similar shortage of playing and training facilities but with scores of volunteers involved in running the associations and clubs, a more structured approach and an increase in competitions is likely to provide the basis for development.
’Vision Asia’ also plans to introduce a proper training programmes in both the cities. Tailor-made programmes will be sent for approval to both the cities in August and once agreed, implementation will commence immediately.
“The visit has confirmed that Indonesia is a country of football passion and football culture but, unfortunately, it is without direction and they will need a lot of assistance in developing their football along more professional and strategic lines,” said AFC General Secretary Dato Peter Velappan, who is also the Project Director of 'Vision Asia'.
“Football is everywhere and it is going nowhere but there are many positives. They have thousands and thousands of players and we need to start a massive training educational programme for coaches, referees and administrators, football doctors and clubs. We are confident that if Indonesia follows the ‘Vision Indonesia’ strategy and its blueprint for the future they will achieve a lot of good results within a short period of time,” he told AFC Media.