Indonesia's FIFA ban represents an opportunity for Australian football

Jim Morrison once sang with The Doors: "I've been down so goddamned long, that it looks like up to me."

Indonesian fans can probably hum along to that tune. The country's international ban handed out by FIFA will soon pass the six month mark and is set to stretch into 2016, and there doesn't seem to be much urgency in football circles to shake off the shackles of suspension.

After the chaos of the past decade with the president of the Football Association of Indonesia -- the PSSI -- in jail at various times, the protests, the politics, the rebel leagues, player deaths and strikes and plenty more besides, the football health of the country was not exactly strong.

Then came FIFA's ban. The punch may have been more telegraphed than one of Drago's haymakers in Rocky IV but it was a blow that couldn't be avoided and it really, really hurt.

Slowly, the football scene is drying up. Sure, the games go on around the country, independent and unofficial competitions attended by some of the most passionate fans around, but the structures are creaking. The national team can't play in qualification for the 2018 World Cup or the 2019 Asian Cup. The clubs were kicked out of the AFC Cup.

Youth development programs have been put on hold, corporate money is withering amid the uncertainty, and national team coach Pieter Huistra is getting ready to depart as he has little to do and is struggling to get paid. Players are going through something similar and club employees are leaving.

If that wasn't bad enough. Fans stuck at home have been forced to watch their neighbours have fun. Thailand has been marching to the top of the ASEAN region. Football in the Land of Smiles is going from strength to strength, its progress a marked contrast to what is going on, or not, down south.

The War Elephants are within a draw of progressing to the final round of qualification for the 2018 World Cup, one of just 12 teams to do so. Just getting there would be a fantastic achievement. Singapore has issues, but at least a fine goalless draw against Japan in September put smiles on faces. Meanwhile, Malaysia's Super League season was a thrilling one and champions Johor Darul Tazim also have the final of the AFC Cup -- the tournament that Indonesia were ejected from -- to look forward to.

So it has been bad news after bad news for Indonesia, but there is an opportunity for regional heavyweights Australia to step in to help. There has long been a demand for greater connections between the two neighbours. There is, of course, Massimo Luongo. The 2015 Asian Cup star, tournament MVP and FIFA Ballon d'Or longlist nominee received plenty of attention when he helped the Socceroos win the Asian Cup and his 2011 move to Tottenham Hotspur was also big news in Jakarta. Now it's time for something more concrete.

At any time, an Indonesian player being signed by an A-League team would be big news. Now though, the reaction in Indonesia would be even more significant. The move would be meaningful and appreciated. Indonesian players are currently not allowed to play in international competitions but club football is a different story.

Football on the archipelago needs a helping hand and Australia needs more engagement with the continent to the north. It's a win-win situation. There are a lack of Asian players in the A-League and that shortfall extends back a decade to the inauguration of the league. To date, there has been Sergio Van Dijk, the half-Dutch half-Indonesian striker, plus a handful of full-backs from Thailand and Singapore and the occasional Chinese or Japanese star -- with Shinji Ono at the Western Sydney Wanderers being the standout.

There are plenty of players around Indonesia who would welcome the chance to play in Australia. If any A-League club signed, for example, Evan Dimas, one of the biggest stars in Southeast Asia, Indonesia would go just a little bit crazy. The 20-year-old's hat trick against South Korea in the qualification for the 2013 AFC U19 Championship was one of the few unadulterated good news stories in the country's football scene for some time and lifted the gifted youngster into the national consciousness. There have been reports of a trial in Spain but Australia would surely be a better fit. The Persebaya Surabaya star needs to be playing competitive football.

A move to the A-League would not only give a club a talented midfielder -- quick, two-footed, equipped with a excellent football brain, and a real potential star for the future -- it would also guarantee massive interest among fans in the world's fourth most populous country. There would be a potential overseas audience of millions watching the youngster play in one of Asia's top leagues which means there could be more people watching A-League matches in Indonesia than Australia. Clubs Down Under would not know what would hit them.

Another potential option, Boaz Solossa, has been one of the best and most consistent performers of Indonesian football for years and at the age of 29 deserves more than to be kicking his heels. As does Achmad Jufriyanto. There are plenty of others in that bracket too, and if a move were to materialise for just one, it would give inspiration to thousands more to make the same journey.

It would not be a case of a neighbour taking advantage of the misfortune of another. Instead, it is Australia stepping in to give some of Indonesia's biggest young talent some regular playing time and a new start. Indonesian football is suffering but Australia could make a difference and help its neighbour to the north, to break on through to the other side.