Indonesia's football association elected a senior army general as its chairman on Thursday as it seeks to overcome a crisis sparked by a year-long FIFA ban. Edy Rahmayadi, currently the commander of the army's strategic reserve, beat five other opponents, including another general, a former football player and a mayor. It is hoped his leadership can heal wounds in the conflict-riven association and help reform football in Southeast Asia's biggest nation following years of problems.
"This victory marks the beginning of us moving forward," said Rahmayadi, after he won the majority of the 107 votes. The current crisis peaked last year as the sports ministry froze the activities of the association, called the PSSI, in a row over participation in the top-flight league. This prompted world governing body FIFA, which takes a dim view of official interference in football associations, to suspend Indonesia and ban the side from international competition. FIFA lifted the suspension in May after the government resolved its row with the PSSI.
While there was much optimism after the general's election, sports ministry spokesman Gatot Dewa Broto warned he would have a short honeymoon period: "Edy Rahmayadi shouldn't be too happy for too long because he has urgent homework to do." The PSSI was also selecting two deputies and 12 other regular members for its executive committee at the congress.
The Jakarta gathering, attended by officials from FIFA and AFC, football's Asian governing body, passed off peacefully in a country with a history of football-related violence. Several supporters from leading club Persebaya, based in Indonesia's second-biggest city Surabaya, attended the congress to demand that a ban on the team from playing in the main league be lifted. Football has faced myriad problems in Indonesia, from the creation of a breakaway association that tore the football establishment apart to cases of foreign players dying after going unpaid and being unable to afford medical treatment.
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