IO – Minister of Sports and Youth, Zainudin Amali, vowed that the Government will build 10 athlete training centers in various regions, as a follow-up to the national sports grand design. “The Grand Design we are proposing encompasses everything from the upstream to the downstream, from maintaining the health of the people in general to finding potential talented athletes from among the masses. Furthermore, we are planning to establish 10 training centers in various regions,” he revealed, during a press conference broadcast by the Presidential Secretariat’s YouTube channel on Monday (15/03/2021).
Several stakeholders, including the Indonesian National Sports Committee (Komite Olahraga Nasional Indonesia – “KONI”), the Indonesian Olympics Committee (Komite Olimpiade Indonesia – “KOI”), the National Paralympic Committee of Indonesia (“NPCI”), colleges and universities, academicians, and sports practitioners, were involved in the creation of the Design. The Ministry of Sports and Youth tested the National Sports Grand Design in public and obtained various inputs that it used when developing the Design.
The construction of each training center will be executed in accordance with the sports potential of each region. The Government is planning to target sports potentials among students leaving Elementary School, with the support of Minister of Education and Culture Nadiem Makarim. “These centers will train our children whose potential is recognized by the time they are in Middle School. Later on, when they are of High School age, we will steer them towards our Sports Vocational School (Sekolah Khusus Olahraga – “SKO”) in Cibubur. We are also considering the establishment of a training center for senior athletes and athletes who are getting ready for competition in Hambalang,” he said. “This is part of a long process that, according to experts, requires some 10,000 hours, or about 10 years, before we can celebrate an achievement we really can be proud of.”
The National Sports Grand Design plans for Indonesian athletes to stand as equals in terms of skill with athletes from other countries in the 2032 Olympics and Paralympics. Furthermore, Indonesia has submitted its bid to become the host of the upcoming 2032 Olympics. “With the 2020 Olympics (delayed until 2021) to be held in Tokyo, the 2024 Olympics in Paris. The 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, we hope that by 2032 we can win the bid to become the host of the Olympics. Naturally, we would also like to show off our skill as host by winning medals,” Minister Zainudin said.
Therefore, in its National Sports Grand Design, the Government sets the target of placing Indonesia in the Top 10 medal-winning countries of the 2032 Olympics – as well as in the Paralympics in the same year. “Our. President directed us to formulate this plan better before he makes his final decision. We don’t know what it will look like yet, but we are pushing for this Grand Design,” he said. (eka)