Indonesian National Football Team to Play Goodwill Game in Palestine

Magelang. Indonesia will send its national team to Palestine to
take part in a football tournament, according to Bernhard Limbong, an Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) executive committee member and national team supervisor.

“This is the first football tournament held in Palestine, and to respect
the invitation, the national team will go,” Limbong said Thursday after
seeing a try-out match between the national team and the PPSM Kartika
Nusantara at Madya Stadium.

Limbong said Indonesia supports
Palestine’s independence, and for that reason it was Indonesia, not the
Philippines, Malaysia, or Vietnam that had been invited to the
tournament. Limbong added that Palestine’s gesture had a certain
meaning.

“The national team will go to [Palestine only to]
participate and, therefore has no target of winning the tournament.
Moreover, the team is now preparing to play against Inter Milan on May
26. So, the match with Palestine will be more like practice,” Limbong
said.

Several of the national team’s players have not yet joined the team, due to obligations with their clubs.

“It
is a common problem. It is only about adjusting their schedules for
playing in the national team or their clubs. They will certainly join
the team,” Limbong assured, adding no players had requested withdrawing
from the national team.

“If they did not come, certainly they
would be given a sanction, especially a moral sanction as this is for
the interest of the country. Another sanction will certainly come from
the disciplinary commission of the Indonesia Football Association,”
Limbong said

Antara