Courtesy: The Jajarta Globe


Futsal Finals Back On After Internal Turmoil

by Wimbo Satwiko

August 05, 2009

The on-again, off-again Indonesian Futsal League Final Four is back on again.

After reorganization in the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) resulted in the Indonesian Futsal Body (BFN) being disbanded, the new Futsal Committee announced on Tuesday that the finals matches would still take place.

Jakarta’s Gelora Bung Karno Basketball Hall will host the final three matches of the season on Aug. 16-18. Defending champion Electric PLN V-Sport meets Mutiara Hitam Papua, while Biangbola take on Pelindo II.

“We have agreed to finish the league before the fasting month,” committee chief Ferry Paulus said.

The fasting month is expected to begin on Aug. 21 this year.

The semifinals were scheduled for Aug. 1-9, but PSSI chairman Nurdin Halid introduced a raft of restructuring measures that included disbanding the BFN, throwing the league finale into limbo.

BFN officials who had been organizing the league refused to continue their work after the disbanding stripped them of their authority.

As for the venue, Ferry said the PSSI wanted the Final Four to be held near Gelora Bung Karno and the Basketball Hall was the only venue not already booked for that date.

But all four clubs asked the committee to find another venue because the Basketball Hall court only just meets the minimum requirements for a futsal pitch. The international standard is 20 meters by 40 meters, and the minimum standard is 18-by-38. The Basketball Hall’s court is 20-by-38.

“We’ve been training and playing the regular season on international-standard courts. It would be hard for us to adapt to a smaller field in such a short time,” Electric PLN V-Sport official Rizky Chawani said.

“The Tennis Indoor Stadium and Istora could fit the international standard, so it would be better to stage the Final Four at either of those two venues.”

Ferry said the committee was considering the request, but he insisted the league had to finish before Ramadan. “We’ll try to play the finals at the Tennis Indoor Stadium. But perhaps the dates will change because we don’t know whether someone has booked the venue,” he said.

Another consequence of the PSSI’s reshuffling was the resignation of national futsal team head coach Justinus Lhaksana.

“I will resign, but I have yet to send my official resignation letter,” he said on Wednesday. “I know that I can’t work well with the committee.”

Justinus took charge of the national team in 2004 and was in the middle of preparing Indonesia for the Asean qualifying zone of the 2010 Asian Futsal Cup. The Tennis Indoor Stadium at Gelora Bung Karno is set to host the qualifiers on Feb. 13-18, 2010.

The 42-year-old coach hoped the new committee would work better and harder to develop the sport in the country. “During my reign at the national team, the PSSI did not fully support the team, especially financially,” he said. “Without the PSSI’s support, futsal will go nowhere here.”






Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com