Erick Thohir once owned Inter Milan and still has an interest in English club Oxford United but the abiding football dream of the Indonesian businessman-cum-politician is to take his country back to the World Cup.
Football is followed passionately by tens of millions in the Southeast Asian archipelago but Indonesia’s sole World Cup appearance came as the Dutch East Indies in 1938 and the country has rarely threatened a return since independence in 1945.
Thohir, who became chairman of the national football association (PSSI) last year, believes that, with up to nine slots available to Asian teams, Indonesia should be at least in the frame for a trip to the finals in 2026.
“Indonesia should be in the top nine in Asia, with our population and our passion for football from all of the people of Indonesia. But of course it takes time,” the 54-year-old cabinet minister told Reuters.
“We want to be in the top 50 in the world by 2045, because by that time our GDP per capita will be around US$27,000 to US$30,000. This is a big country, so by then the quality of the football will have increased.”
Indonesia’s per capita GDP is currently around US$5,000 and the national team are 127th in the Fifa rankings, leaving plenty to do over the next two decades for Thohir and his colleagues in both the realms of economics and football.