Young athlete from Banten Province, Ibnu Alan, has been entrusted with the task of captaining the Indonesian U17 National Futsal Team which is preparing to compete in the Tourneo VI Nation U17 international championship in Spain on June 24-28.
Alan, who is currently a student at Pandeglang State High School 4, admitted that he was very proud and happy to be trusted to be the team captain.
"I'm happy. It's boosted my spirits and I have to do even better," he said, as quoted by Banten Governor Andra Soni during his visit to the national futsal team's training camp at Anfa Arena, KTC Mall Kelapa Gading.
Before competing in Spain, Ibnu Alan had already experienced international competition by helping the Indonesian national team win the ASEAN U16 Futsal Cup in Thailand in 2025.
In that championship, Alan even won an award as the best player.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Indonesian Futsal Federation (FFI) Michael Victor Sianipar emphasized that the U17 national team that will compete in Spain is strengthened by the best talents regenerated from various regions, from Aceh, Banten to Papua.
At the Tourneo VI Nation U17, Indonesia made history as the only team from Asia invited to compete against world futsal giants, such as hosts Spain, France, Portugal, Morocco, and Brazil.
"It's not an easy group, but it's important to continue honing our mentality and opening up opportunities to improve in the future," said Michael.
Meanwhile, Andra Soni said his arrival at the training camp was to provide a motivational injection to Alan and the entire Garuda Muda squad.
"I came to offer support and encouragement to the U-17 National Team and the players from Banten. I'm proud of the U-17 National Futsal Team. I'm sure your parents are proud to have been selected from hundreds of millions of Indonesian children," said Andra Soni.
Andra specifically highlighted the achievements of Ibnu Alan, a young man from Labuan, Pandeglang Regency. He emphasized that through sports, feelings of inferiority or inferiority can be overcome, as achievement is determined purely by discipline and hard work, regardless of background.
The Governor also hopes that Alan's talents, who is currently in the 10th grade of high school, can continue to be honed so that he can reach the peak of his best achievements in the future.
