Unity boost for Indonesian football
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has reportedly brokered a deal between the Indonesian Football Federation (PSSI) and the breakaway Indonesian Super League (ISL) and the Indonesian Football Rescue Committee (KPSI).
The rival groups signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Thursday last at the AFC's headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
This now means the Indonesia Premier League, the official top flight football competition, and the ISL breakaway competition, will be governed by the PSSI, with four KPSI members set to be reinstated to their original positions.
The agreement also comes a week before a deadline imposed by world football governing body FIFA for the country to unite under a single administration or risk being suspended from all official competition.
AFC Vice-President HRH Prince Abdullah Ibni Sultan Ahmad Shah watched the signing ceremony and expressed his hope that the agreement will mark the end of what has been one of the most troubling times of Indonesian football.
Prince Abdullah thanked all the sides for the spirit in which the MoU negotiations were held, stating "it was in the interest of Indonesian football and I would like to thank everyone and FIFA for entrusting AFC to lead this mission.
"This is the start of a new chapter in Indonesian football and an opportunity to put personal differences and politics aside for the sake of football. There is a lot of work ahead and AFC is willing to provide all the assistance to create a new top tier league in Indonesia."
"We are confident that the MoU meets the requirements of FIFA as all the football activities will be under the umbrella of PSSI."
AFC Acting President Zhang Jilong welcomed the news, adding "I am pleased to note that all the sides in Indonesia have come to an understanding and this will serve the best interests of everyone involved.
The MoU is the first significant breakthrough for Indonesian football in recent times after both FIFA and AFC expressed their grave concern over how the breakaway league and the KPSI were affecting the game and asked all the groups to find common ground. An
AFC Task Force was formed to help mediate the talks between the groups.
As part of the MoU, a joint PSSI committee will be established to create a new top tier professional football league. The committee will also work with FIFA and AFC to review the statutes and other association matters. The four expelled PSSI Executive Committee members will be reinstated.
The MoU also states that the ISL will continue to operate separately but will come under the umbrella of PSSI while the KPSI will not hold itself out as a football governing body.
However, the crisis may not completely over yet as PSSI officials were said to have held an emergency meeting in Jakarta on Friday to discuss the development, which they claim they were unaware of.
PSSI official Rudolf Yesayas stated "of course, we are happy that the Super League will come under the PSSI, but we never agreed for the KPSI members to be reinstated to our association.
"There are a lot of officials here at this meeting, and I can tell you a lot of us are very, very unhappy."
Image shows Jakarta's Gelora Bung Karno Stadium during the 2007 AFC Asian Cup.
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