Indonesian, American women's soccer exchange

Four women's soccer coaches from the United States held a soccer training clinic on Monday,January 3, 2011 at Jakarta State University for more than 150 young Indonesian women and disabled athletes. A press release from US Embassy in its official website said the American coaches would also hold clinics in Surabaya, East Java, on January 5, and Pontianak, West Kalimantan on January 7, 2011.

Prior to leaving Jakarta, the coaches shared the stage @america with four female Indonesian athletes (Rally Marina-car racer, Fanny Kalumata, player of the women's national basketball team, Andari Putrianti, member of the Indonesian Youth National Female Softball team and Santia, Silver Medal winner at the SEA GAMES 2010 in Athletics) and Monica Desideria from the Indonesian Soccer Association (PSSI) and ANTV to discuss the opportunities and challenges facing women in sports.

In attendance were approximately 70 female athletes from Jakarta and several members of the press. The training is part of the "The Indonesia-America Soccer Exchange," made possible by a grant from the U.S. Department of State in cooperation with the Center for Civic Education Indonesia. The program aims to further improve understanding between the people of Indonesia and the United States through the medium of youth sports.

The "Indonesia-America Soccer Exchange" has two components. The first includes three one-day training clinics for female athletes, including disabled athletes, within the 12-20 year-old range and 30 coaches. After the training sessions in Jakarta, Surabaya, and Pontianak, a smaller group of coaches and athletes will participate in an eight to ten day visit to the United States.

The visiting American coaches include former members of the U.S. Women`s National Soccer Team, U.S. Women`s National Youth Team, and top NCAA university programs who are now elite youth basketball club and high school coaches in the United States. They are Janine Szpara, Cori Alexander, Rachel Rapinoe, and Karen Willoughby.