Chairman of the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) Erick Thohir and President of the Football Federation of Australia (FFA) Chris Nikou discussed potential cooperation after meeting one another at the 2023 FIFA Congress in Kigali, Rwanda, Thursday (March 16, 2023). (ANTARA/HO-PSSI/FR)
Jakarta (ANTARA) – Chairman of the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) Erick Thohir highlighted potential cooperation with Australia following his participation in the 2023 International Association Football Federation (FIFA) Congress in Kigali, Rwanda, on Thursday.
The FIFA Congress held in Rwanda became an opportunity to establish cooperation with football federations in various countries, he noted through a written statement on Friday.
The state-owned enterprises (SOEs) minister met with leaders of football federations in various countries, including from Europe, Asia, South America, and Africa.
He noted that Indonesian football is open to the possibility of cooperation with any country, including Australia.
"After the FIFA Congress, I met with President of the Football Federation of Australia (FFA) Chris Nikou," he remarked.
Thohir gained significant insights into professional football management from Nikou.
He was also impressed by Australia's struggle to revive its football scene after an incident with the old football federation and its failure in qualifying for the 2002 World Cup.
FIFA, which was formed to replace the previous federation, started to conduct a series of transformative actions in terms of competition management to the Australian football road map for the long term.
"The discussion with Chris is very interesting. There was also an emotional closeness since we are both part of the Asean Football Federation (AFF)," he remarked.
Australia has opened its doors to cooperate in developing football in Indonesia. They deem that Indonesia is a country with major football potential, both in terms of the industry and play quality, Thohir noted.
"We spoke about organizational cooperation between PSSI and FFA as well as regional cooperation for the development of football in Southeast Asia," he stated.
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Translator: Muhammad Ramdan, Fadhli RuhmanEditor: Azis Kurmala Copyright © ANTARA 2023
