The south-east Asian nation is aiming to become the first from the region to play host to the world’s biggest sporting event but if they can’t present an official letter to FIFA detailing the government support, it could all be over.
The deadline to submit the document is February 9.
“The guarantee letter is very important. Without backing from the government, Indonesia will be disqualified from the bidding process,” Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) deputy secretary general Dali Tahir said according to the Jakarta Post.
“If we don’t take the opportunity now, we’ll have to wait for another 20 years.
“President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Minister of Youth and Sport Andi Alifian Mallarangeng are the key figures to make this bid happen. We plead to them. It’s not just a PSSI event, it’s a big event for Indonesians.”
“President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Minister of Youth and Sport Andi Alifian Mallarangeng are the key figures to make this bid happen. We plead to them. It’s not just a PSSI event, it’s a big event for Indonesians.”
That support, according to Minister for Youth and Sport Andi, will not be forthcoming as the government wants more focus on grass-roots.
“As the president said, the PSSI must put the focus on revitalizing football development in the country, not anything else,” Andi said.
“We have to pull ourselves to the top of the Southeast Asian region again, then we’ll have to be one of Asia’s best. After that, we can talk about the World Cup.”
“We have to pull ourselves to the top of the Southeast Asian region again, then we’ll have to be one of Asia’s best. After that, we can talk about the World Cup.”
Without official support, Indonesia couldn’t even team up Australia, a rival for 2022, and present a joint-bid.
“FIFA has confirmed the 2022 World Cup will be held in Asia. Australia and Indonesia have a chance, but Australia doesn’t want to face us head-to-head,” Dali claimed.
“They prefer to have us as a strategic ally. But without the guarantee letter, it’s impossible to join forces with Australia.”
Indonesia will be up against Australia, England, Japan, Qatar, Russia, South Korea and the United States, plus joint bids from Spain-Portugal and Belgium-Netherland for the right to hold 2022.
FIFA will make the decision in December 2010.World Cup 2022 bid no joke, insists Indonesia
Indonesia's football federation insists its surprise interest in hosting the 2022 World Cup finals is a serious bid, not a novelty.Despite its lack of success on the field, the world's most populous Muslim nation would be an ideal host and a serious rival to world football's heavyweights, said Nugraha Besoes, general secretary of the country's football federation.
"This bid is no joke, we've been planning it for a long time - this is a serious bid," Besoes told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of the Asian Football Confederation's annual congress.
"Everyone is crazy about football in Indonesia. People will come to all the games and we have what it takes to host the tournament. This bid will open everyone's eyes to Indonesia."
Indonesia have only reached the World Cup finals on one occasion, as the Dutch East Indies in 1938, and Besoes admitted raising the level of the national team was a top priority.
"Our team lacks discipline and needs to perform well - this is our main focus," he said.
"We have to greatly improve our grassroots development, we have to become one of Asia's best teams and we have 12 years to work on that."
He said dozens of Indonesian players of less than 14 years of age were based permanently in Uruguay to expose them to a higher level of play, and hundreds more would be sent in future.
Besoes gave no projection for the funding needed to host the finals but said the bid had received guarantees from investors and the government.
He said Indonesia had gained valuable experience as a co-host of the 2007 Asian Cup when packed stadiums and fights for match tickets showed there was massive support among the country's 226 million people.
"There have been some negative signals from outside Indonesia about this bid, doubting we can be hosts, but people are crazy about football here," he said.
Australia, England, Japan, Mexico, Russia and the United States have bid for both the 2018 and 2022 tournaments, along with two joint proposals from Belgium and the Netherlands and Spain and Portugal.
South Korea, Indonesia and Qatar have confirmed their interest in hosting the 2022 finals.
The Indonesian bid pledges seven new stadiums and major upgrades to five existing venues, with matches held in 11 different cities across the sprawling archipelago, including in Banda Aceh, a region once roiled by decades of conflict.
Besoes sought to allay security concerns and said the government had taken great strides to prevent the bombings which rocked Jakarta and the resort island of Bali in recent years.
"We are not seeing anything like we did before," he added. "There's no more terrorism here, things are now back to normal."
Besoes said South Africa's successful bid for the 2010 finals showed that countries with limited on-field success were capable of hosting the World Cup.
"If South Africa can do it, why can't we?" he said. "We have the fifth-biggest population in the world, a love of football and a beautiful country - why can't it be us?"
