President of the Indonesian football association visits the KNVB

Erick Thohir, president of the Indonesian Football Association PSSI, visited the KNVB. - Foto: KNVB Media

Erick Thohir, president of the Indonesian Football Association PSSI, paid an official visit to the KNVB on Monday. The president received a warm welcome at the campus in Zeist. In addition to an extensive tour, Thohir received several presentations on Dutch football landscape and commercial strategy.

Thohir's visit is a direct result of the closer ties between the two football associations. In September 2024, the KNVB and the PSSI concluded a four-year cooperation agreement, the so-called Memorandum of Understanding. The cooperation is aimed at accelerating the initiated growth of Indonesian football, focusing on coach education, talent development, friendly matches and the development of women's football.

The friendly match between the Dutch national team (w) and Indonesia in October 2024 was the first result of the cooperation. In Indonesia itself, where the Orange teams are immensely popular, the world is also turning more and more orange. Patrick Kluivert, 79-time international, was appointed national coach early this month. He included in his staff Alex Pastoor, Denny Landzaat and Gerald Vanenburg. Gerald is also coach of the Under 23 team.

Warm welcome

The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding took place last year in Jakarta. Monday followed the return visit of President Thohir in Zeist. He was received by an extended KNVB delegation including Secretary General Gijs de Jong, Dave Dekker (Commercial Director), Michael van der Star (Head of International Programs) and Ruud van der Sar (Head of Sales/New Partnerships). He also met Marianne van Leeuwen (Director Professional Football), Nigel de Jong (Director Top level football) and Jan Dirk van der Zee (Director Amateur Football).

The cooperation with the PSSI fits within the international strategy of the KNVB. Part of this is that we share our innovative vision with other football associations in order to further develop football in general. We have been doing that in Indonesia for some time with the international program WorldCoaches. Over the past decade, more than 700 coaches - 25 percent of whom are women - have been trained.

Strong ties

From a historical perspective, the Netherlands and Indonesia have strong ties. Both football associations want to further strengthen this in the football and commercial field. Erick Thohir's visit to the KNVB Campus contributes significantly to this.