JAKARTA. President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo decided on Monday to set up a special team to address ways to lift world soccer governing body FIFA’s suspension of the Soccer Association of Indonesia (PSSI), imposed last May.
The decision to create a special team came in response to FIFA’s request for the Indonesian government to revoke the freeze on the PSSI, dated April 17, 2015, so that in turn FIFA would lift its sanction on Indonesia.
“FIFA says to do it [the revocation] as soon as possible, I also say to do it [form the special team] as soon as possible,” Jokowi said following a meeting with FIFA and the Asian Soccer Confederation (AFC) at the Presidential Palace as quoted by tempo.co on Monday.
An article in the FIFA statute states that governments should not intervene in countries’ soccer federations.
Youth and Sports Minister Imam Nahrawi, who was also present at the meeting, said that FIFA understood the government’s decision to freeze the PSSI. “It is good that FIFA listens to [input from] all parties,” he said.
