Jakarta Casual

I may have mentioned once or twice the lack of forward planning that exists in the corridors of power in Indonesian football. There are separate bodies which look after the league (LIB) and the national team(s) (BTN) and from the outside it looks like they don't communicate too often. This explains why the league will continue while the national team is competing in the AFF Championship or attempting to qualify for the World Cup.

But now...wow! 

At a recent meeting the LIB put forward a three year schedule which took into account the national team's requirements as well as domestic affairs. This is revolutionary stuff! In theory, one season will morph effortlessly into another one with teams able to budget accordingly, much like they do in the rest of the world. Hopefully, it means no more last minute changes to fixtures to accommodate internationals.

It's early days of course and I have yet to see any meat on the bones but eliminating uncertainty has to be a good thing for national team coach STY, Liga 1 and everyone involved in forward planning and it sets out a bold marker for the future.

Ah yes, the future. Notice the plan covers the next three years. Call me a hoary old cynic but could that be because that is what remains of the current PSSI head's time in office? 

# posted by Me @ 11:38 AM 0 comments

For me, football is football. It matters not one jot if I'm watching a Champions League game between Inter and Real Sociedad or dropping down the pyramid to see Southwell City entertain Newark Town in a local derby. It's all about the experience, the atmosphere, the day out. In an ideal world, it would be following the Arsenal home and away but the ballot has ended any notion of being a fan and now, as a customer, I can pick and choose my games.

In Indonesia, people would be surprised to meet a bule who went to local football and local football fans would be surprised to meet a bule who went to Liga 3 games. I would be asked if I was a player. Or a coach. People would want their photo taken with this strange creature. Others would ask what is Liga 3 and to be fair that is a bloody good question!

You know when you see those shaky YouTube videos of match officials being attacked? They're probably Liga 3 games! But beyond the personal safety of men with whistles, Liga 3 is a logistical nightmare, even in a normal season.

Persijap fans at the 2020 Liga 3 Final

Normal season? The 2020 season ended in December. The following season was cancelled due to Covid. The calender was switched for the 2021/22 campaign. 2022/23 was cancelled following the Kanjuruhan Tragedy. So, yeah...normal!

So, with a tip of the hat to the indefatigable chaps who update the Wiki pages, let's get up close and personal to the third tier of Indonesian football and find out what all the fun is about!

The 2023/24 season ended in June with Adhyaksa Farmel defeating Persibo 3-2 in the Final in Cibinong after extra time. It marked the end of a campaign which had started back in August and gone through a number of rounds.

First up was the Provincial Round. Don't expect to find a fixture list, everything depends on the provincial football associations and out there in the boonies the writ of Jakarta is very far away - things get done at the whim of local officials. 473 teams started out in the Provincial Round from Aceh in the west to Papua in the east.

After the regional phase, 80 teams went on to what is called the National Round and they were drawn in to 16 groups of five teams each. Group A for example was held at the recently renovated, and renamed, Benteng Reborn Stadium in Tangerang and featured hosts Persikota, Kartanegara (East Kalimantan), Persab (Central Java), MBS United (Riau) and Persidago (Gorantalo). They played each other once and the top two in each group went to the next round.

Then on it's like any other competition. The 32 are divided into eight groups of four where they play each other once. Top two go on to the next round where they are still in groups of four. The semi final stage if you like has two groups of four with the teams finishing top going on to the final to decide the Liga 3 Champions. The top three in each group earn promotion meaning the 2024/25 Liga 2 season will see Adhyaksa Farmel (Liga 3 Champions), Persibo (Runners Up), Dejan, Persekas, Persikota and Persiku added to its ranks. 

Easy, innit?! 

Interestingly, all six newly promoted sides are based in Java. 

Persikota fans

Farmel, who were based in South Tangerang, won back to back titles having won the Banten Provincial Round in 2023. Another Banten based side is Persikota who find themselves back in Liga 2 after many, many years in the wilderness and who knows...could we see the Tangerang Derby revived in the near future?

Liga 1 and Liga 2 are slated to start in August. As for the new Liga 3 season...

If you were able to track down fixtures, if you were flexible and if you had the patience then following Liga 3 games would be a groundhoppers wet dream. For me, I'm at the age where, tempting though bouncing round the roads of North Sulawesi may once have been in search of elusive fields, I'm happy enough with anything relatively close to Jakarta!

# posted by Me @ 12:13 PM 0 comments

As I prepared to watch yesterday's Singapore Premier League game between Lion City Sailors and Albirex Niigata, it dawned on me I hadn't seen a league game in Singapore for eight years and it's fair to say much has happened in my absence.

The White Swans have since won the league six times along with a number of cup triumphs as well as Community Shields. They have dominated the Singapore league in much the same way SAFFC did at the start of the 21st century and it's fair to say beyond a few whiney tweets where I bemoaned these upstart crows, their success has passed me by.

Their consistency is worthy of respect - it's not as if they've achieved it by signing £50 million players and sticking them on the bench. They pretty much reinvent themselves each season!

And here we are in 2024 and it almost feels like we're at the dawn of a seismic change in the Singapore football landscape. Albirex are now a fully local club, hopefully with a name change, while Home are now Lion City Sailors, Singapore's first privately owned club.

LCS have started the season well while Albirex have struggled to find their rhythm but surely many fans heading to Bishan Stadium would have expected a hard fought game between two top teams.

What they got was a very public visceration of a once great side. The Sailors started on the front foot and never eased off the gas and you kind of felt sorry for the experienced Hassan Sunny between the sticks for the Swans.

Not too long ago he was being feted by China after his performance for Singapore against Thailand. Chinese fans rushed to his restaurant, others sent him money. As he sat dejected on the Bishan surface looking forlornly out at the huge swathes of grass vacated by his team mates you could excuse him from thinking perhaps he might wanna open a new restaurant in Shanghai.

The Sailors were happy to occupy the empty spaces and, prompted by Maxime Lestienne and Shawal Anuar, they took full advantage. Even when Anuar went off early, they never eased up.

People like to look for pivotal moments in football, usually with the benefit of hindsight. Manchester United for example beating Crystal Palace in the FA Cup Final 1990 and setting Sir Alex Ferguson off on his generational trophy haul or a team meeting at Arsenal in 1997 after losing at home to Blackburn Rovers - they would go on to win the double.

Only the history books, or in the case of Singapore football where there is little in the way of literature, Wikipedia, will decide whether those 90 minutes in Bishan brought the curtain down on Albirex Niigata's hegemony or gave birth to Lion City Sailors as the premier force but for those of us jaded by one team's title monopoly, it does add motivation to reabsorb ourselves in the league!

# posted by Me @ 2:12 PM 0 comments

Well, it looks like 2024 is gonna be the year when the much talked about ASEAN Club competition actually gets off the ground. Rather like the Bangkok metro, talking about an intra regional competition was great for column inches but surely it would never get off the ground? 

The Asian football nerd in me was at once drawn to the idea while thinking the logistics would prove to be an obstacle to getting it started. I love the idea of a Laotian club side rubbing tusks with a Singaporean side but among the wider football public, is there really any interest?

People are quite happy to stay up until stupid o'clock to watch the UEFA Champions League which benefits from wall to wall coverage and local media filled with generic agency produced columns but when it comes to the AFC equivalent there isn't that familiarity or name recognition to get the pulses racing.

When you add into the mix the short termism that too often surrounds club management who often struggle to get teams ready for the regular league games let alone the burden of further games, and travel, you can see the reasons for my cynicism. 

But, fair play, a draw has been made, a sponsor signed up and next month sees the competition kick off with a couple of qualifying ties

17/07/24 Young Elephants v Svay Rieng; Kasuka v Shan United

24/07/24 Svay Rieng v Young Elephants; Shan United v Kasuka

The respective winners of those ties will go into the group stage which commences in August and will go on to February 2025

Group A - PSM Makassar, BG Pathum United, Dong A Thanh Hoa, Terengganu + 2 

Group B - Cong An Ha Noi, Buriram United, Borneo Samarinda, Lion City Sailors, Kuala Lumpur City, Kaya Iloilo

You'd imagine the likes of Buriram United and Lion City Sailors won't be rattling buckets at their home games. Both clubs have deep pockets and both clubs seem to have no problem entering both the ASEAN Club Championship and the AFC Champions League!

With the new tournament due to start in just a few weeks a quick glance at the websites of some of the competing clubs shows no mention of their early games on their websites though mention was made on social media. 

Competitions, especially new ones, need hype and for the ACC to become a regular feature on the football calendar you would hope the clubs involved will do their bit to generate interest

# posted by Me @ 2:52 PM 0 comments