Papua always has a spot in Indonesian football. This island has potential young athletes who could join the national football team. From time to time, Papua always sends its finest young athletes to the national team. Of course, this requires process and training for the young generation of Papuan people.
Joining football school (SSO) is the right pathway to move up as a talented football athlete. Every year the Indonesia Central League (LSI) travels around Indonesia to select young football athletes to join their training in Jakarta. This is another milestone in becoming a professional football athlete. This year four Papua SSBs join LSI selection.
LSI Selection in Papua
LSI selection in Papua takes place in two cities, Jayapura City and Jayapura Regency. This selection process takes weeks, from February until May 2023.
There are four SSBs in Jayapura Regency, and all these four SSB take part in LSI selection this year. Silas Ohee from Petra Sentani SSB said the people in Jayapura Regency do not enthusiastic about football. You can see it from the small number of SSB participating in LSI selection. This is different from Jayapura City, which has sixteen SSBs and all taking part in LSI selection.
Despite the small number at this time, he hopes for progress in the near future and more chances for SSB or football clubs to compete against each other. Or even better, to participate in the junior league. This way, these young athletes get more opportunities to explore their skills. It gives them real experiences of playing in a real football environment.
A little push and motivation for these young athletes are all that Silas Ohee wants to see from the local league. Four SSB in Jayapura Regency is Yofa Ayapo, Putra Yeabhu, Petra Sentani, and Papua United – where Silas Ohee is involved as the coach.
He certainly knows how to explore the talents of these young children and then train and improve them. He thinks children who start early have more advantages in improving their talent. If these children stick to practicing football and have the chance to enter the football league, they may become top football players in the future.
Government Parts in Helping Young Football Athletes
Only children aged 12, 14, and 16 can participate in the LSI competition. All SSB will compete against each other, allowing them to learn who has better skills on the field. The team that gets the highest score in the game is the winner.
This LSI competition is the first start to enter the major football league. If they do not start training early, they lose the chance to join the big league.
Finding new talent in football is not an easy task. Even if a child has the talent, it still requires training and consistency in this sport. Unfortunately, it will not be easy and may fall off during this process.
Besides the chance from the football league, government support also plays a vital role in developing this sport. Silas Ohee stated his opinion as a children’s football coach. He wishes to have the government support the efforts of these SSBs in helping these young athletes. A little spotlight from the government means a lot to everyone involved in SSB.
He and other coaches in SSBs expect the government to participate in football junior leagues. This is a positive routine for young children. They also learn many things from this sport while it paves their way to their future. Staying in SSB not only gives them some after-school activities but also their ticket to join Papua SSBs join LSI selection. Hopefully, in the future, there will be many talented sportsmen from the land of Papua who will take part in celebrating national and international football events.
