President Jokowi Watches 2016 ISC Opening Match
President Jokowi during the opening match of the2016Indonesia Soccer Championship (ISC) at MandalaStadium, Jayapura
President Joko Jokowi Widodo on Friday evening (29/4) watched the opening match of the 2016 Indonesia Soccer Championship (ISC) at Mandala Stadium in Jayapura, Papua.
At the opening match, Persipura Jayapura played againstPersija Jakarta.
President Jokowi arrived at the stadium at 11 pm Eastern Indonesian Time during the break of the match.President Jokowi was accompanied by Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs LuhutBinsarPandjaitan, Minister of Youth and SportsImam Nahrawi, Presidential Chief of Staff TetenMasduki,and Papua Governor Lukas Enembe.
On the field, President Jokowi was given a whistleby the referee and not long afterwards, the President blew the whistle that symbolically marked the start of the 2016 ISC.
For the record, the opening match between Persipura Jayapura againstPersija Jakarta ended with a draw 1-1 and was watched by 21,000 spectators.
The ISC is a football competition that consists of two parts, A and B.
ISC A consists of 18 clubs fromthe Indonesian Super League competition, while ISC B comprises 59 clubs from the Main Division.
The ISC does not apply the promotion and degradation system.
The 18 clubs that join the 2016 ISC are Semen Padang, Sriwijaya FC, Persija Jakarta, Persib Bandung, Madura United, PerselaLamongan, Gresik United, Arema Cronus, Surabaya United Bhayangkara, Barito Putera, MitraKukar, Bali United, Persiba Balikpapan, PSM Makassar, PS TNI, PerseruSerui, Persipura Jayapura andPusamania Borneo.
Minister of Youth and Sports, who accompanied the President ever since in Jakarta, explained that the ISC is no longer a tournament but a pure competition.
The tournament meets all teams in 2 standings, both ISC A and ISCB and this is already home and away. Each team will meet in their home ground or where they are in their group, the Minister told reporters at Sultan Muhammad SalahudinBima airport.
The Minister also explained that the ISC is the follow up of the Governments policy in accordance with the Presidents directive that football management reform may not stop here but has to continue.
It means that our football management reform can be a new role model,where the application of transparency, management, and consistency to regulation done or regulated by the operators or the host is done well, the Minister said.
The ISC is a momentum that we implement our football management reforms in which all sides are involved be it sports sponsors that transparently give reports to the public, including audited by independent auditors, the Minister said.(TKP) (EP/YM/Naster)
