PAPUA – After competing in the U-13 and U-15 Soeratin Cups, the Papua Football Academy (PFA), which is in its second year of existence, has begun to aggressively participate in competitions both nationally and internationally. The first batch of PFA students became the only team representing Papua and Indonesia at the Selangor Open 2024 by the National Football Development Program (NFDP) Series, where there are U-10, U-11, U-12, U-13, U-15, U-17 categories on March 2-5, 2024 in Selangor, Malaysia. Meanwhile, the second batch of PFA will return to compete in the Bangga Merah Putih (Barati) Cup 2024 youth competition which takes place on March 2 – 5, 2024 in Gianyar, Bali.
PFA has been part of PT Freeport Indonesia’s social investment program since 2022. This program is PT Freeport Indonesia’s long-term commitment to develop Papuan children’s football talent based on character development. The tournament activities participated in by PFA are part of the steps to build the character of Papuan children to have a competitive mentality so that they will grow into competitive individuals in the future.
Selangor Open 2024 organized by JSA Sports Academy and supported by the National Football Development Programme (NFDP) and Majlis Sukan Negara Malaysia is a program initiated by to improve the quality of football for early age in Malaysia.
With the support of PT Freeport Indonesia, PFA competes on March 4 – 5 in the U-15 (Under 15 years old) category. While in Malaysia, the 27 students will be accompanied by coaches such as Ardiles Rumbiak (Head Coach), Melky Papare (Assistant Coach), and Irsadul Anam (Goalkeeping Coach) and five other officials.
“First, we are grateful to have the opportunity to represent Indonesia in the Selangor Open 2024 tournament in Malaysia. For us, this is a valuable moment for students to improve their level of play because they meet foreign teams,” said the 37-year-old coach.
“Of course, talking about competition abroad is not only testing their physical, technical and tactical skills against opponents. But the most important thing is mentally, in this competition it is hoped that they can develop and encourage their mentality to be well-managed and more mature,” Ardiles added.
“By participating in this competition, they will automatically equalize their level with the abilities of the opponents. Hopefully this can bring changes for them to become professional soccer players in adulthood,” said Ardiles, who graduated from Persipura Jayapura.
Sending PFA students to participate in overseas competitions is a commitment by PFA and PT Freeport Indonesia to maximize their ability, talent and interest in playing soccer.
“Our goal for this tournament is for them to show their best game both as a team and individually. Regarding the results, if they get good results it is a bonus. Hopefully it can be a motivation for them to race even harder,” Ardiles said.
PFA’s participation in this inaugural international event, many values can be learned. Apart from the brilliant technical results in the final, Ardiles praised the attitude and ethics of the PFA students.
“PFA children are very social during their stay in Malaysia, all parents, coaches, coaches & match officials are happy and admire the attitude displayed by each individual PFA. The peak was in the semi-finals and finals, everyone was present to give support to PFA by chanting: Let’s go Papua,” said Ardiles.
Specifically, Ardiles did not feel the high prestige of football like at the national team level between Malaysia & Indonesia. On the contrary, the presence of the PFA has a positive impact on the football of both countries. “Our PFA-Papua-INDONESIA chants are always applauded by everyone present. From here, I think it’s true that football is a tool to unite all people in the world”, he concluded.
