IJSL from Indonesia has arrived in Gothenburg

IJSL has come here with a strong team from the island of Java in Indonesia.

IJSL's B12 team from Indonesia is among the first teams to arrive in Gothenburg before the Gothia Cup.
– 80 percent of the players had never flown in an airplane before, says the coach Novind Hippy.

IJSL stands for Indonesia Junior Soccer League. The players who are now in Gothenburg are from the island of Java, which has just over 148 million inhabitants. Football is by far the biggest sport there.
– The players are therefore very happy to come here, says Novind Hippy.
When we meet the team, they have just arrived at Hvitfeldtska gymnasiet.
– The trip took 16,5 hours. We changed planes in Istanbul and went from there to Gothenburg. It feels great to be here. The last time I was here was about ten years ago, so it was a while ago. For the players, it's the first time they're involved in this tournament, says the coach.
The players have actually been a bit nervous during the trip.
– 80 percent of the players had never flown in an airplane before or left the country. Now they are very excited and happy. They're a little nervous because of the weather, because we have no cold weather in Indonesia. This is cold for them. Hopefully we can adapt to the weather quickly.
The boys in the team are between eleven and twelve years old and they will compete in the B12 class in the Gothia Cup.
– Gothia Cup has teams from over 50 nations. Here we can test our limits and see how well we're doing internationally. It's the best tournament for youth football.
Tomorrow they will play a friendly game against Gunnilse from Sweden.
– It's good to be able to acclimatize to the weather. Then we will be ready for the Gothia Cup, says Novind Hippy.

They meet two Swedish teams and a German team in the group stage.
– We will do our best to win some matches. We know we're not the best team in the tournament, but we will do our best, he says.
If they have time, they will also ride roller coasters at the amusement park Liseberg during the week.
– We want to do that, but we will see what the schedule looks like. Now we also need to think about getting into the circadian rhythm, given the time difference. Gothenburg is five hours behind us, says Novind Hippy.
The players are in a good mood despite the long journey.
– It's fun to be here. The weather is a little different than in Jakarta, says the goalkeeper Anthony Dominic Hayhurst with a smile.

Welcome to the Gothia Cup, our friends from Indonesia!