Youth and Sports Ministry Improves Competence of Disability Sports Coaches

RRI.CO.ID, Tangerang – The Ministry of Youth and Sports is strengthening the competence of coaches and sports facilitators for people with disabilities through a Training of Trainers (ToT) program for disability sports facilitators held in Tangerang, Banten, on August 7-8, 2026.

Acting Deputy for Sports Development at the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Budi Ariyanto Muslim, said the program is part of efforts to improve coaches’ skills while expanding sports participation among communities of people with disabilities in Indonesia.

“The Disability Sports Coach Empowerment Program is designed to develop coaches for athletes with disabilities, focusing on improving coaching competence and expanding sports participation among disability communities in Indonesia,” Budi said in a statement received in Jakarta on Monday, August 10, 2026.

He expressed his appreciation for the support from the National Paralympic Committee of Indonesia (NPCI) in Banten Province and Tangerang City for the implementation of the program. Budi hopes the ToT will produce competent disability sports facilitators who can support sustainable sports development in their respective regions.

“We hope this program will produce competent facilitators, serve as the beginning of sustainable development, and create multipliers in their respective regions for a brighter future for Indonesian disability sports and to bring greater recognition to the nation on the international stage,” he said.

NPCI National Coach M. Bram Riyadi said every athlete with a disability requires a different training approach based on their classification and individual condition. “Every athlete with a disability requires a different approach because each athlete has their own classification. Each classification has different elements that need to be considered in improving their training,” he said.

Bram further conveyed coaches need to understand the challenges faced by each athlete in order to determine appropriate training and support methods. “Coaches need to understand the challenges faced by each athlete with a disability. Each type of challenge requires a different approach to assistance and training,” he said.

Through the ToT program, participants received theoretical and practical training to improve their skills as coaches and facilitators of disability sports in their respective regions.

The Ministry of Youth and Sports said that based on 2024 data from Statistics Indonesia (BPS), there are around 22.9 million people with disabilities in Indonesia, or approximately 8.5 to 9 percent of the national population. Limited access, services, facilities, and support from trained coaches are among the factors contributing to the relatively low participation of people with disabilities in sports.

Currently, the ministry records 92 disability sports coaches with backgrounds as coaches affiliated with the National Paralympic Committee of Indonesia (NPCI). Of the approximately 22.9 million people with disabilities in Indonesia, only around 11.6 percent are recorded as actively participating in sports.