Word: persikabo
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Dates: during 2001-2001
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...Changing the game won't be easy. Disgruntled bureaucrats and retired generals are grumbling about losing what has been a source of prestige for them. Even the players have resisted privatization. Thirteen of Persikabo's 15 players boycotted the purchase, believing they were going to be traded. Suwarso lost his key men, replacing them with junior-league footballers and foreigners. Two came back and signed multiple-year contracts. It's hard to argue with Suwarso's results, however, as attendance so far this season is up 1,000% to about 10,000 per game. And if he succeeds, other Indonesian...
...meantime, there are downsides to owning a team. For one thing, Suwarso never gets to enjoy home games. On a recent afternoon as Persikabo hosted its Jakarta rival, Suwarso was busy counting spectators and calculating costs. When a loose ball was kicked into the stands and wasn't returned, Suwarso was out $9. Each fan who clambered over the wall set him back 50. "Every time one of these guys jumps over, I lose," says Suwarso. Maybe his next innovation should be an electrified fence...
...Mirwan Suwarso has a better idea. The 30-year-old Jakarta native last year became the first private individual to turn a soccer team into a business entity, buying West Java's Bogor-based Persikabo football club. Suwarso hopes to take the club public in five years, and to recoup his $300,000 investment he plans to introduce a host of promotions and giveaways. NFL-style halftime shows, children's soccer workshops, a fan club and other off-pitch diversions are part of an effort to make his team a complete entertainment package?and justification for raising ticket prices...
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