Shaun Spencer, coach of the Manchester United Football Club Academy, sees Indonesia as having the potential to develop its young soccer talent in the future.

'€œWe found during the Navigat International Cup held here at the Jakarta International School [JIS] over the weekend, the Bina team came over and they had an Indonesian winger who played very well, very skillfully and very quickly,'€ Spencer told reporters on the sidelines of a soccer coaching clinic at JIS on Tuesday.

'€œWe also saw some of the younger ones with brilliant play,'€ he said.

He said with such skillful resources, Indonesia should be at a higher FIFA ranking than it currently is.

'€œI'€™m surprised at the level of Indonesian soccer, considering where the Indonesian national team is in the FIFA rankings. I think with the quality of the youngsters, the ranking should be higher, definitely.'€

In the recent world soccer ranking list announced last month, Indonesia is ranked 170 out of 209 countries. It has dropped four ranks from last year.

Indonesia is placed lower than neighboring countries Thailand (140), the Philippines (143), Myanmar (155), Malaysia (163), Singapore (165) and Laos (168).

Spencer and David Hobson, the club'€™s chief scout, are cooperating with Asian Soccer Academy (ASA) Foundation to help young, talented Indonesian players gain sports scholarships abroad.

They have come to Jakarta for a seven-day tour, which includes attending the annual Navigat International Cup and soccer coaching clinics for underprivileged children around JIS and Singapore International School in Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta.

'€œFor me, it is important that we include as many children as possible, so the children who might not be financially rich have the chance to play as well. Soccer is an inclusive sport. It should be for everybody, regardless of how much money they have or their social class,'€ Spencer said.

The coaching clinic combines basic financial education with sports activities, held jointly by ASA Foundation and Permata Bank. It commenced on April 9 and will run for nine months.

'€œIn line with our business, we have decided to hold financial literacy through sports [FITS] program, a basic finance education combined with sports activities for 60 children between 11-14 years old, who come from underprivileged families,'€ Furiyanti, Permata Bank vice president head in charge of Corporate Social Responsibility program, said.

Sahlah, 10, and Nurfitri 12 said that they were taught about family financial planning through various games.

'€œOn the first day of the program, we were introduced to money and how to manage it,'€ they said.

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