It is not yet certain the Indonesian U-23 football team will play at the 15th Asian Games in Doha next December as the National Sports Committee (KONI) has to discuss the matter again with the State Minister for Youth and Sports Affairs and the Monitoring Team, KONI Chairman Agum Gumelar told Antara newsagency.
KONI and the minister apparantly have different views on what the national team can achieve in Doha, Agum said. He said when a national team was sent to Doha it would not so much be to achieve a certain target but to meet the request of the secretary general of the Asian Football Confederation, Datok Peter Velappan. "Datok Velappan said we have to send a national soccer team to the Asian Games as we have been absent from the games four times and because next year we will be one of the four nations hosting the Asian Cup," he said.
In the Asian Games 2006, the Indonesian team will be in Group B together with Singapore, Syria and Iraq. The national team was to leave for Doha from Drachten, the Netherlands, on 8 November.
KONI and the minister apparantly have different views on what the national team can achieve in Doha, Agum said. He said when a national team was sent to Doha it would not so much be to achieve a certain target but to meet the request of the secretary general of the Asian Football Confederation, Datok Peter Velappan. "Datok Velappan said we have to send a national soccer team to the Asian Games as we have been absent from the games four times and because next year we will be one of the four nations hosting the Asian Cup," he said.
In the Asian Games 2006, the Indonesian team will be in Group B together with Singapore, Syria and Iraq. The national team was to leave for Doha from Drachten, the Netherlands, on 8 November.