Jakarta, Truestorysports — The Palu Selection football team had the honor of meeting and being entertained directly by the Minister of Youth and Sports (Menpora) of the Republic of Indonesia, Erick Thohir, at the Ministry of Youth and Sports Office, Jakarta, Tuesday (11/11/2025).

The meeting was also attended by Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports Taufik Hidayat and Deputy MPR RI, Akbar Supratman.

The young squad from Central Sulawesi has just completed its work at the 2025 SingaCup event held in Singapore.

In the international tournament for the age group, Samsuddin’s team managed to advance to the quarterfinals.

Even though they have not been able to penetrate the semifinals, Palu Selection still made a proud achievement. One of the players, Aimae Al Adlu, successfully won the title of top scorer aka the tournament’s top scorer.

On that occasion, Erick Thohir symbolically handed the ball over to one of the Palu Selection players, Marco, as a form of appreciation and motivation for young footballers.

Marco’s father, Ahmadi HB Buraera, said that Erick gave an inspirational message to the children of Palu Selection to continue to practice with discipline, maintain ethics, and build a strong mentality to achieve their goals in the world of football.

“Mr. Erick motivates children to focus on training and character building. He also emphasized the importance of early childhood coaching as the foundation of national football,” said Ahmadi.

As the General Chairman of PSSI, Erick Thohir emphasized his commitment to strengthening grassroots football coaching throughout Indonesia. He also plans to expand the format of the early age competition with an 8-on-8 system for the U-7 to U-13 age group.

“Mr. Erick’s hope is that in the future more players from Central Sulawesi will be born who can strengthen the national team,” added Ahmadi.

Article Link: https://sport.truestory.id/tim-palu-selection-dapat-jamuan-menpora-erick-thohir-usai-berlaga-di-singa-cup-2025/