Other Sports

Indonesia promoting cricket

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-04-27 13:44

Indonesia will launch a campaign to promote cricket as well as raise a fund for a three-year development program, local press reported Friday.

The campaign, initiated by Cricket Indonesia, seeks to raise 200,000 U.S. dollars for the development programs throughout the country to generate interest in the game among the broader community, reported English-language daily The Jakarta Post.

The campaign targets "individuals and middle-sized companies who are interested in the development of cricket in Indonesia," Cricket Indonesia Chairman Sachin Gopalan was quoted as saying.

"The idea of this campaign is to prove to those involved in cricket development that this program is a serious and long-term one," he said, adding that the use of the funds will be regularly audited by an independent auditor to ensure transparency and accountability.

Cricket Indonesia Secretary Prakash Vijaykumar said that the association is planning to publicize the game across the country.

"We are starting to introduce the sport in new areas in cooperation with National Sports Council provincial chapters in places such as Banten, Riau, East Kalimantan, Yogyakarta and Surabaya," Vijaykumar said.

According to Vijaykumar, the focus is no longer on the spread of the sport among expatriates from cricket playing countries but also among Indonesian people.

"We want to transform cricket into a popular sport for Indonesian people," he said.