Indonesian World Cup bid was "grand idea from a big nation" claims FA President

March 21 – Nurdin Halid (pictured), the President of the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI), has apologised after the country’s bid to host the 2022 World Cup was debarred from the race by FIFA.

The world governing body wrote to the PSSI on Friday telling them that their bid would no longer to be considered because of the lack of Government support.

FIFA reportedly based their decision on the letter they received last month from the Indonesian Government saying that they refused to back the bid.

Indonesia’s Government had also refused to provide financial guarantees for the bid partly because they feared that the national team would have been embarrassed if they had been awarded the tournament.

Halid, a convicted criminal who served two years in prison on corruption charges, has been ordered to appear next month before a public hearing of the House of Representatives’ Commission X, which oversees sports, youth affairs, tourism and culture in Indonesia, to explain the poor standard of the sport in the country.

Indonesia, with a population of 230 million, is the fourth most populous country in the world but has only qualified for the World Cup once, in 1938, when, as the Dutch East Indies, they lost 6-0 to Hungary.

Halid said: ”It [the World Cup bid] was a grand idea from a big nation and of course we are all disappointed by the decision from FIFA.

“But as a big nation, we should take the decision with an open mind and the right spirit so that it will not deter our aspiration to raise the level of Indonesian football.

“On behalf of the PSSI, the Bidding Committee and I would like to extend our apologies to the people of Indonesia following our exit from the bidding process for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.”