Flamengo in Indonesia

Brazil to bring Flamengo, coaches to RI
Niken Prathivi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Wed, 09/21/2011 8:00 AM
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Extending a comprehensive cooperation with Indonesia, Brazil is planning to bring its best soccer club, Flamengo Regatta Club, and some coaches to the country as an initial step toward a potential collaboration in sports in the future.

“The concept of cooperation we’d like to extend is in the sports sector. So, my idea is to bring Flamengo
to Indonesia next year … and stage a friendly match between the club and Indonesian players in the beautiful stadium that you have here,” Brazillian Ambassador to Indonesia Paulo Alberto Soares told The Jakarta Post at his office in Jakarta on Monday.

“Give me six months to organize it and we will have Flamengo playing against the Indonesians, possibly with the national team if it is allowed by the Indonesian [soccer] association here,” he added.

Soares said that cooperation in sport might continue by inviting some Brazilian coaches to Indonesia. “We could ask [the coaches] to stay here a year, or maybe on a two-year contract, to train the Indonesia players. Hopefully, [after the training] Indonesia could go [further] in the World Cup.”

The newly appointed ambassador said that Brazil has a strong history in soccer, while soccer is the most popular sport in Indonesia, along with badminton.

“What we need to do is to bring out the awareness in both countries. Brazil must be more present in Indonesia, and Indonesia must be more present in Brazil,” said Soares.

Despite offering the soccer initiative, Soares also said that Brazil — which is due to host two of the world’s most prestigious sporting events, namely, the soccer World Cup in 2014 and the summer Olympic Games in 2016 — could share its knowledge with Indonesia.

“For the 2014 World Cup, we are working hard in our preparations … investing a huge amount in transportation and infrastructure. We are working on the stadiums — renewing, refurbishing and constructing them.

“It is about finding an urban solution in the 10 modern cities hosting the event . We are working hard, with both the government and private sectors,” he said.

For the Olympic Games, which will be held in Rio de Janeiro, the Brazilians are also developing the complete infrastructure needed to provide facilities for the athletes, which will include a special complex and an athletes’ village in Rio, said Soares.

“We are investing a lot within the public and private sectors, and we are inviting international companies to join us,” he added.

Soares also plans to invite Indonesia’s Olympic Committee to discuss the Games and motivate the potential athletes who will go on to participate in them.

“We would like to have Indonesia come to Rio in a big way, with a lot of athletes participating [in the Games]. Brazil and Indonesia are really getting closer to each other,” he added.

Besides promoting Brazil to Indonesia, Soares said he wants to know more about the country’s sports management. “We want to know how Indonesia is preparing for the upcoming Southeast Asian Games.”

In comparison, Brazil began its thorough preparations by selecting the host cities for each sporting spectacle as soon as it won the respective host bids.

“For the World Cup, for example, we selected the 10 cities in 2009,” said Soares, adding that construction of transportation infrastructure has become Brazil’s main priority.

“Airports, sea ports, roads, highways, bypasses, subways, all of these should be in good shape. So we’re investing a lot on this,” said Soares.

Meanwhile, Indonesia selected Jakarta, and Palembang in South Sumatra, as hosts for the SEA Games only one year prior to the event.