Soeratin Sosrosoegondo

Soeratin Sosrosoegondo (17 December 1898 – 1 December 1959) was an Indonesian civil engineer and football administrator in the colonial era who is one of the main founders of the Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI), the governing body of football in Indonesia as well as serving as its first chairman from 1930 to 1940.

Early life and education Born in Yogyakarta in the Dutch East Indies, Soeratin's family was amongst the educated class in the country. His father, R. Soesrosoegondo, was a kweekschool teacher and authored the book Bausastra Bahasa Jawi. He spent five years of his education at Koningen Wilhelmina School (KWS) in Batavia.

Career and founding PSSI Upon returning to his homeland in 1928, Soeratin was immediately employed by a Dutch construction company based in Yogyakarta, Sizten en Lausada, for a salary of around 1,000 Dutch guilders per month. During his time there, he was involved in construction projects for buildings and bridges at Tegal and Bandung, being in a position that is parallel to a commissioner in the company. He would later resign from Sizten en Lausada as his involvement in the national awakening grew.

An enthusiast of football, Soeratin realized that sports could be used as a platform to grow values of Indonesian nationalism amongst the native youth, in accordance with the ideas of the Youth Pledge. Under his rule, the newly formed governing body started running its own competitions and forming local commissioners throughout the country.

Personal life and legacy He was married to R.A. Srie Woelan, the younger sister of Soetomo, founder of Budi Utomo. The Soeratin Cup, a national youth football tournament in Indonesia, was named in his honour.