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Football fan Hendri Mulyadi reflected the frustrations of millions of Indonesians when he ran onto the pitch and tried to score a goal in the match between Indonesia and Oman. With his nation down 2-1, Hendri attempted to take matters into his own hands, but to no avail as the whistle blew on his heroes.

With that loss, Indonesia failed to qualify for the Asian Cup for the first time in 18 years. The country’s national teams in all age groups have fared poorly, a distressing situation for football-mad Indonesians. The Under-23 team went winless at the 2009 Southeast Asian Games in Laos, while the Under-19 team failed to reach this year’s AFC U-19 Championship.

And it’s not just football. Across all major sports, Indonesia has produced very few champions. The large amounts of money the country has poured into sports has failed to translate into success on the playing field. This is a sad reflection on the state of our national sports programs, and something must change.

Pointing fingers, which is what the people in charge of the football team did immediately after the loss to Oman, will not help. Nor will the acceptance of mediocrity and failure by our athletes and officials, which has become all too common. A malignant cancer has infected our national sports teams, and unless drastic action is taken, we risk becoming the whipping boys of the region.

Sports must be aggressively promoted at all levels. We need passionate, driven and qualified people running our sports organizations. Failure must no longer be tolerated at any level, and potential champions must be groomed from an early age. We can no longer afford to ignore failure in the system or in those who manage our national sports teams.

Beyond giving the country a sense of national pride, sports play a crucial role in developing the character of our young people. Sports encourage a healthy lifestyle and can keep our young people off the streets and away from harmful activities. Countries that have winning teams and consistently produce champions often have a greater sense of purpose and direction.

Sports are also important in helping young people learn social skills and the value of competing fairly. People who do well in sports often succeed later in life, which is a strong argument for the Education Ministry to spend more time and resources to promote sports in our schools. Sadly, not nearly enough attention is paid to helping young people lead healthy lifestyles through sports.

It is time to move on from the heartbreaking defeat our football team experienced this week. But we must learn from our failures and not repeat our mistakes if we are to turn the corner and become a nation of champions.