FEBRUARY 9 - INDONESIA'S bid to rival England and host the World Cup is part of a long-term development of the sport in the country and should not be underestimated, the country's leading football administrator said today.

 

Nurdin Halid, the chairman of the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI), said: “It’s not daydreaming.

 

"It’s a measured target and it’s stated in the PSSI’s 'Vision 2020' blueprint.

 

"There are 10 main programmes in the blueprint.

 

"Two of them are having a good football industry and bringing Indonesian football onto the world scene.”

 

Indonesia are the big outsiders among the 11 bidders to host the 2018 or 2022 World Cup.

 

The favourites are England with bookmakers installing Australia and Russia as joint second while Mexico or the United States are seen as good bets by many experts.

 

Halid admitted that Indonesia's biggest handicap is the lack of venues.

 

He said: “The stadiums will be a long-term investment, and we want to have value added to the stadiums.

 

“The stadium development is very urgent. We’ll need about Rp 8 trillion (£460 million) to Rp 10 trillion (£575 million) to build the stadiums.”

 

Indonesia already fulfills one major requirement for hosting a World Cup.

 

The government-owned Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta, which hosted the 2007 Asian Cup final, has a capacity of 88,000 spectators, easily satisfying the requirement for an 80,000-capacity stadium for the opening match and the final.

 

But World Cup candidates must also have another 12 stadiums capable of seating 40,000 spectators.

 

Indonesia currently has just three stadiums verified by the Asian Football Confederation to be eligible to host Asian events: Gelora Bung Karno; Si Jalak Harupat in Bandung, West Java; and Gelora Sriwijaya in Palembang, South Sumatra.

 

Palaran Stadium in Samarinda, East Kalimantan, would likely meet the requirements, though it has yet to be certified by the AFC.

 

The country will soon add four new stadiums. Bersih Manusiawi Wibawa Stadium in North Jakarta and Riau Stadium are being built for the 2011 Southeast Asian Games and 2012 National Games, respectively, in addition to two stadiums in West Java - Gede Bage Stadium in Bandung and Bogor Stadium in Bogor.

 

The PSSI also proposed the construction of six new stadiums: Makassar, South Sulawesi; Gianyar, Bali; Surabaya, East Java; Yogyakarta; Tangerang, Banten; and Medan, North Sumatra.

 

Nurdin has asked the Government for a presidential decree concerning Indonesia’s preparation.

 

The country's Minister of Youth and Sports Affairs Adyaksa Dault said the Government welcomed the World Cup bid.

 

He said: “But we have to have an integrated plan for this.

 

"If Brazil and Mexico can hold the World Cup, then Indonesia can do it better.

 

"This is not a dream, but this is a hope that we must fight for.”

 

FIFA will announce the 2018 and 2022 World Cup hosts in December of 2010.

 

The other countries bidding are Japan, Qatar and South Korea and there are joint bids from Belgium-Netherlands and Portugal-Spain.