Jakarta. The Indonesian Football Association, or PSSI, on Saturday appointed football legend Bima Sakti as the head coach of the U-17 national team ahead of the junior world cup to be hosted by the country.

Bima, the former captain of the national team, has 55 caps, second only to Kurniawan Dwi Yulianto (60). He also had managerial experience as a coach assistant for the senior team in 2017-18.

PSSI Chairman Erick Thohir said Bima’s appointment reflects the association’s policy to allow the younger generation to take the helm at the national team.

Bima, 46, will get an assistant who will be announced after a meeting by the PSSI executive committee, he added.

“We will play at the world cup so he needs an assistant,” Erick said.

Indonesia, which last month lost the right to host the U-20 World Cup following local opposition to Israel’s participation, was awarded by the world football governing body FIFA the right to host the U-17 World Cup due to lack of preparation by original host Peru.

According to Erick, members of the U-17 squad will be selected during tests in nine places across Indonesia as soon as next month.

From August-October, the new team will have tryouts with local and foreign teams to complete the training program.

“We expect several matches with countries in Europe, Asia, and Africa so that the team will be fully prepared for the U-17 World Cup,” Erick said.

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