Illumined arena: The Jakarta International Stadium is seen from the air on April 17, 2022, in North Jakarta. (AFP/Adek Berry)
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occer Association of Indonesia (PSSI) chair Erick Thohir has suggested the usage of the Jakarta International Stadium (JIS) in North Jakarta for Indonesian national soccer teams’ games.
He cited the packed schedule of international matches for the national team, burdening the Gelora Bung Karno (GBK) Stadium which, so far, has been the only venue for international-level competitions.
The Indonesian senior men’s soccer team will host Bahrain and China in the third Asian qualifying round for the 2026 World Cup on March 25 and June 5, respectively. Erick also mentioned the plan to host in July the President’s Cup, a preseason tournament for Indonesian soccer clubs.
“Jakarta has two major facilities: Gelora Bung Karno Stadium and Jakarta International Stadium. It is crucial to synchronize and utilize these two large stadiums effectively,” Erick said in a video posted on his Instagram on Monday.
On Monday, Erick met with Jakarta governor Pramono Anung to discuss potential collaboration on improving JIS infrastructure, including the public transportation access and parking facilities around the stadium.
During the meeting, the PSSI chair raised the need to integrate public transport systems managed by the Jakarta administration with the one under central government jurisdiction, such as the Jakarta light rail transit (LRT) and Mass Rapid Transit (MRT).
Pramono said that the provincial administration would be ready to work with the PSSI to resolve the issues.
“If the PSSI chair, who is also the State-Owned Enterprises [SOEs] minister, gets involved in matters around JIS, I’m confident that access and infrastructure will improve significantly,” the new governor said, as quoted by tempo.co.
Recently, Jakarta-owned developer Jakpro, who develops JIS, signed an agreement with city-based soccer club Persija Jakarta on Feb. 20 to name the stadium as the club’s home ground.
Standing 73 meters tall on 26.5 hectares of land, the JIS has 82,000 seats, more than the capacity of GBK. The stadium was constructed at a cost of Rp 4.5 trillion (US$273.5 million), mostly drawn from the city budget.
