Inter Milan May Open a Football School in Jakarta, Fauzi Says

Lenny Trista Tambun & Wimbo Satwiko

Inter Milan may be planning to open a football school in Jakarta, Governor Fauzi Bowo said after meeting with the visiting team on Friday.

Fauzi said he had invited the team to the country not only to assure them that the city is safe and secure, but also to raise the spirit of Indonesian football players, especially the national team, to improve their play in international events.

Speaking after a lunch with the team at city hall, Fauzi said the Italian club had told him it had plans to set-up a football school or academy in Jakarta. The school, he said, will train athletes from a young age so they can contribute to a better Indonesian football future.

“I see that football schools in Italy have already given birth to a lot of young athletes. The result is that they become capable of playing at a world class level. Therefore with an Inter Milan football school here, superior Garuda Muda seeds can be trained to become world class players,” he said.

Fauzi voiced hope that the school would also develop a partnership between football clubs in Italy and Indonesia.

But when asked when the school would be built, he said “we don’t yet know when it will be built.”

Inter Milan team captain Javier Zanetti said, “Indonesia is very important because its population is almost as much as the United States. This is important for the football industry and we want to have a base here. That is why we are here.”

The Inter Milan team arrived in Indonesia on Wednesday for a five-day visit. The team played in a friendship match and shared playing techniques with children during a coaching clinic at the Gelora Bung Karno stadium on Friday.

The team, which came without its best international players, also played against the Liga Selection — a hodgepodge of the Indonesian Premier League’s best local and international players — on Thursday and is set to play the Indonesian national team at Gelora Bung Karno on Saturday.

BeritaSatu/JG