President Jokowi meets FIFA President at Merdeka Palace
President Joko Widodo (right) welcomes President of FIFA Gianni Infantino at the Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, on Tuesday October 18, 2022.
Jakarta, The Gulf Observer: Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has received President of Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) Gianni Infantino at the Merdeka Palace here on Tuesday to discuss the transformation of Indonesian soccer.
Infantino was welcomed by Indonesian Youth and Sports Minister Zainudin Amali as well as State-owned Enterprises (SOEs) Minister Erick Thohir in front of the palace.
Furthermore, the President of the World’s Soccer governing body met President Jokowi.
Infantino’s visit to Indonesia is a follow-up to his letter to the Indonesian president conveyed through Thohir concerning the plan to transform the Indonesian football ecosystem as a response to the Kanjuruhan stampede.
The letter conveyed FIFA’s readiness to cooperate with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), the Indonesian government, and Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) in improving soccer in Indonesia through five main aspects.
The first aspect concerns, safety and security standards of the stadium that should be comprehensively reviewed and improved.
Furthermore, the police’s security protocols and procedures in safeguarding a match must comply with the international safety standards.
In addition, more intensive dissemination of information on the transformation of football in Indonesia is deemed crucial, including the active involvement of supporters in ensuring the program’s success.
The fourth aspect is the review of match schedules by taking into account the potential security risks.
The last aspect is assistance and benchmarking on the security of the matches that requires the involvement of stadium safety institutions and experts to establish systematic comparisons on global best practices regarding the issue.
The Kanjuruhan tragedy occurred after the Indonesian League 1 match between Arema FC and Persebaya at the Kanjuruhan Stadium, Malang District, East Java Province, on October 1, 2022.
According to a report of the joint independent fact-finding team (TGIPF) to President Jokowi on Friday (October 14, 2022), the stampede claimed 132 lives, while the 96 other victims were seriously injured. In addition, 484 victims suffered from minor to moderate injuries.
