Jakarta Casual

Felda United v PBAPP in the Premier League

It's December 2004 and I've been working in Malaysia for a few months. As it's a Saturday I've taken a bus from my home in Puchong into town for a few beers. KL is heaving as it's Malaysia Cup Final day and it seems like the whole of the north west has decamped to the capital. Perlis v Kedah. For Perlis it's their first ever final and they won. They would go on to appear in the next two finals and that was to be the end of their faint wisp of glory.

Not the most orthodox of introductions to a piece about the second tier now known as the Malaysia A1 Semi-Pro League but I mention Perlis for good reason. When I started taking note of the game they were a feature in the top flight without winning anything. They were a state FA in a league populated by state FAs. But ever since Malaysia decided to go fully professional Perlis, along with the likes of Kelantan, Melaka and Sarawak have struggled and fallen off the radar. I say this because looking at the Semi-Pro League instead of seeing a few familiar faces like the aforementioned, what we have is a hotch potch of newly formed clubs boasting faintly ridiculous names.

So, let's have a gander at the Semi-Pro League 2024/25 and its 15 teams.

Sharing top spot after six games are Melaka and Immigration. This particular incarnation of Melaka bears no relation to the Melaka United where Ilija Spasojevic enjoyed some glory earlier in his career. They were only formed in 2022 and are now coached by the experienced K Devan.

As for Immigration, they are 10 years old and owned by, you guessed it, the immigration department. Their nickname is the Mighty Tigers which I think is a mighty letdown - better be known as the Passport Stampers! Anyway, I hope they get promoted as they have a Nigerian striker in their ranks named Michael Thankgod Ogwuche who has scored seven goals so far this season.

Both those sides could in theory find themselves in the Super League next season!

In third place are Kuala Lumpur Rovers three points behind the joint leaders and they boast a massive 4 year history! Could KL City v KL Rovers be the Derby KL is waiting for? I guess no...

Next up is Bunga Raya Darmansara who seem to play on a field and have an active FB page! They also feature in their ranks the veteran Khyril Muhymeen.

Now, we're getting into silly name territory. Persada Integriti Bersatu Shah Alam are better known as PIB Shah Alam and they were formed in 2011. When they hosted Melaka at the start of the season the crowd was a reported 100! Then we have PT Athletic, or Putrajaya Athletic who were formed in Janauary 2024 - and earned themselves a place in the second tier straight away! They too have some familiar names in their ranks with Indra Putra and Amri Yahya rolling back the years at Stadion MMU!

After Malaysian University and Majung City we come to Armed Forces, formerly known as ATM and coached by English guy Kevin Cooper. Remember a few years ago when they were splashing the cash and were seen as a Malaysian Manchester City?!

Sadly, Gombak have no links to the late, lamented Gombak United in Singapore. Instead, they find themselves in the second tier having won the Malaysia A3 Community League (Selangor Champions League?!) last season. Over in East Malaysia we have Machan FC from Sarawak and again, they're a relative newbie, former in 2022

Back on the peninsula and YP Maintenance sounds less like a football club and more like a repair company based under the arches by Waterloo Station in London. The YP though stands for Yayasan Pahang and they are based in Kuantan

Harini FC are based in Kuala Selangor which is an interesting small town. Sadly, I can't think of anything interesting to say about Harini but do visit Kuala Selangor with its old fort!

In the relegation places, Bukit Tambun come from Penang and are just two years old. They've only played one home game this season and that was at the 40,000 capacity Penang State Stadium - the 273 fans that night would have had plenty of legroom! Meanwhile UiTM United have been around for a while without really exciting anyone.

With crowds across the league averaging less than 400 and no team, perhaps apart from Melaka, capable of attracting any numbers, it's hardly surprising we hear next to nothing about the league. Clubs come and go with regular monotony, they always have, so it's hard to generate any interest in vanity projects which won't be around for long. In such circumstances, little wonder clubs at this level struggle to survive

# posted by Me @ 5:54 PM 0 comments

Singapore also went down that route a while back when they switched from SLeague to the Singapore Premier League. Why? Of course it's a premier league, it's the only one! It's not as if it's the apex division in a thriving football pyramid.

Then we have Malaysia and as ever, when they start to think at Wisma FAM it really fries my brain. At least the Super League, the Malaysia Cup and the FA Cup have remained unchanged but further down the pyramid, and they do have a pyramid there, things get messy.

What in the name of all that is suci is the Malaysia A1 Semi-Pro League? Who the hell came up with that nonsense for a second-tier competition? Get relegated and you're in the Malaysia A2 Amateur League!!!

Then there is the MFL Cup which, despite the name, is a cup for reserve teams.

Mind you, I gave up expecting logic in Malaysian football years ago when they had teams built from a reality TV show, a road and a provincial water authority!

Moving on...I guess the AFC had seen what UEFA had done and decided they wanted to do something similar. but different. 

There was nothing wrong with the AFC Champions League, AFC Cup and the AFC Challenge Cup. Except UEFA ditched their third cup so the AFC did the same.

But UEFA brought back a third competition so the AFC brought theirs back. and UEFA called theirs a league so AFC copied that as well.

But, fair play to the AFC. Rather than solely copy other people's daft ideas they decided to introduce a few of their own. The AFC Champions League has become the AFC Champions League Elite. The AFC Cup has been rebranded the AFC Champions League 2. And of course the AFC Challenge League.

How many extra fans will go to a game just because the name has been changed to highlight its secondary role in the ecosystem? I'm guessing none.

These daft name changes are borne of nothing other than non-football people overthinking problems that never existed in the first place and, just like the evolution of tactics on the field, do nothing but over complicate what is still, at its heart, a beautiful and simple game

# posted by Me @ 4:03 PM 0 comments

The only one of the four sides competing in the Shopee Cup Qualifying Round I have seen before. Based out near the Vietnamese border, Svay Rieng have an eclectic bunch of officials with a Scottish general manager, a Spanish coach aided by a Cambodian and an Irish assistant!

Last season they won the Cambodian Premier League as well as the Hun Sen Cup so they are team with momentum.

Club captain is Takashi Odawara who has carved out quite a career for himself having played in the Philippines and the Maldives before turning his back on archipelagic nations and moving to Cambodia in 2022. 

As you'd expect there are a handful of Brazilian players and a Cambodian international who rejoices in the name of Texan born Cambodian international Nick Taylor.

One more player of interest. Lao international Bounphachan Bounkong arrived on loan last season from - drum roll - Young Elephants!

Young Elephants (Lao)

Initially a club in the mould of Young Lions/Harimau Muda but now a proper club in their own right. They won the double in 2022 and were league champions last season.

Singaporean owned, apparently the bosses fly down to their home country once in a while to buy football equipment at Peninslula Plaza!

They have a handful of foreigners from Brazil, Japan and Uzbekistan but most of the players are local, none of whom I'm familiar with!

Kasuka FC (Brunei)

Much prefer their full name of Kampong Sungei Kedayan! Won the Brunei Super League for the first time in their history. 

26 year old Liberian striker Leon Taylor has an interesting career path. Arrived in Myanmar at the age of 19, after playing for three teams inside three years he moved to Kasuka in 2020. 

In 2023 he spent half the year in Thailand with Nakhorn Sawan and the other half back in Brunei with Indera. This year has followed a similar path with the first fe months in Thailand at a low league club before returning to Brunei

They are coached by the experienced Ali Mustafa who has also had stints with the Brunei national side. Back in 2004 he was in charge of another local side, QAF and if you're wondering why I would mention that random piece of trivia, Aussie Robbie Gaspar was there at the same time!

Shan United (Myanmar)

Pretty dominant at home in the last few years having won the Myanmar National League four times in the last five years (Covid interrupted 2021).

Moussa Bakayoko is another who has had an interesting journey to South East Asia. Hailing from Ivory Coast, he has played in Morocco, Armenia, Republic of Irleand, England (Dartford, Havant & Waterlooville), Czech non league, Ivory Coast (Yippee!) and Kazakhstan before his (travel) agent found him a team in Myanmar!

Another name to watch out for is Efrain Rintaro, Brazilian born of Japanese immigrants he was with Osaka FC in 2022

# posted by Me @ 5:04 PM 0 comments

Selangor fans

With Johor Darul Ta'zim defeating Sabah 3-1 earlier today, they sit top of the nascent Malaysia Super League with five wins from five games. Are we already watching a procession to yet another title for the southern behemoth which has long outgrown the domestic game? What does their domination say about the rest of the league and, more importantly, do people still care.

Just flicking through earlier today I came across a quite remarkable stat. JDT have just three defeats in their last 125 league games! Do people still care enough about their local team knowing they are essentially playing for any morsels JDT deign to cast their way.

Let's start with today's game and the most important stat to help us understand the state of football - attendance. 11,569 saw Gustavo Bergson hit a 95th minute penalty to guarantee those three points. This was Sabah's third home game of the season. Their first against Penang drew 3,708. Next up were fellow East Malaysian side Kuching City and that game pulled in 5,141. So, obviously, for the Sabah fans they seem quite happy to come out to a game they're almost certain to lose with locals attracted by the glamour of the serial champions.

2018 22 19 2 1 47-9 59 9,997*

2019 22 16 5 1 49-19 53 5,632

2020 11 9 2 0 33-8 29  9,914**

2021 22 18 3 1 50-9  57 0**

2022 22 17 5 0 61-12 56 4,723

2023 26 25 1 0 100-7 76 5,331 

2024/24 After JDT played 5 games 7,324

* Records incomplete

** Covid hit season

Not particularly scientific I know and if I had more time I really could go through the 2018 and 2020 to get a more accurate figure but the completed seasons do show attendances holding up fairly well and if I'm honest that pleasantly surprises me. And, from afar, it is fair to say well-run Kelantan, Selangor and Melaka United would boost those figures. 

Sarawak fans away to PKNS

Malaysian football suffers from too many clubs which are, to be brutally honest, pointless. It also suffers from clubs which are poorly run. And of course a team so far ahead in terms of professionalism and infrastructure - yet for the most part fans still show a willingness to turn out and surely that is something savvy club owners could build upon.

# posted by Me @ 12:25 AM 0 comments

Why can't KL City attract crowds? Based in Malaysia's capital city, nearest rival is the far bigger Selangor but why has the club failed/struggled to build a relationship with its local community beyond the fact they don't win every game 7-0?

It's not as if the last few years have been a drought.

2017 Malaysia Premier League Champions

2021 Malaysia Cup Winners

2022 AFC Cup Runners Up

2023 Malaysia FA Cup Runners Up

And yet last season they averaged less than 2,000 per home game and here they are dishing out freebies for perhaps the biggest crowd of the season! 

Undoubtedly, not paying players on time with little explanation why does nothing for the 'optics' of the club but - we're talking about the capital city of a relatively thriving country where people love football (usually Liverpool and Manchester United though!). 

Malaysian football is crying out for someone to provide a serious challenge to them brash boys from the south, Johor Darul Ta'zim, with their deep pockets and superb infrastructure but the rest of the teams just seem to plod along pathetically, uninterested in developing. 

Perhaps instead of investing in clubs overseas, some rich Malaysian tycoon could challenge some of their wealth locally and help build a fully competitive where JDT are forced to battle their way to the title and not coast.

Or, maybe there are reasons why the rich businessmen aren't interested that go beyond football?

Either way, we are left with the somewhat humiliating spectacle of a club in the capital city which has struggled paying wages offering a few dozen freebies for a big local derby.

# posted by Me @ 6:31 PM 0 comments

The Piala Presiden will be going ahead after much humming and haaing. If any clubs were hoping to ease into the new season with a series of gentle friendlies, think again. There's serious money up for stake in this pre-season tournament and if a team should suffer a string of poor results, expect to see the dreaded 'pelatih harus dievaluasi' raise its ugly head.

The group stage in this edition will be held in Bali and Bandung with Solo hosting the semi-finals and final. Solo gets to host plenty of big games these days...

Previous Winners

2015 Persib v Sriwijaya 2-0 

2017 Arema v Pusamania Borneo 5-1

2018 Persija v Bali United 3-0

2019 Persebaya v Arema 2-2 0-2

2022 Arema v Borneo 1-0 0-0

# posted by Me @ 11:42 AM 0 comments

One player who would have been grabbing the headlines were the media more interested in local football and not food stalls charging extra for chilli sauce (gotta love The New Paper!) is Tomoyuki Doi.

With 30 goals in 35 games for Albirex Niigata and Hougang United, the striker tried his luck back in his native Japan and Albania before returning to Singapore at the start of this season where he soon rediscovered his goal-scoring mojo. Seven games in with Geylang International and he has 12 goals including three hat tricks, the latest against Albirex yesterday.

Doi is just one of a large number of young Japanese players at home in Singapore. Albirex Niigata have eight for example. Even Young Lions, notionally a team built to develop young players for the national team, have four on their books. Balestier Khalsa have three as do BG Tampines Rovers. Doi isn't alone at Geylang where he has six team mates from his homeland. Tanjong Pagar United have a couple and Hougang United have just the one. Just DPMM and Lion City Sailors have resisted the urge to turn Japanese. For now.

Doi makes the headlines but others are worthy of mention to. Young Lions are mid table, well 6th, in part thanks to the goals of 24-year-old striker Itsuki Enomoto. The prowess of Kodai Tanaka in front of goal and the guile of Riku Fukashiro have been instrumental in Balestier Khalsa's good start to the season

And these players are not here to make up the numbers. Four of the top five scorers as I write are Japanese. Four of the top 10 assist providers too!

How many of these players could earn a crust in the JLeague is a different story of course. Doi had little impact in his short stint in J2. 

Now that I'm reaching the end of this piece I'm not sure what conclusions we can draw. That Japan produces good, well rounded professional footballers? Fair point. That there are too many foreigners in Singapore to the detriment of local talent? Another fair point. But good payers, especially prolific goal scorers, should be cherished no matter where they come from and if players like Doi and Enamoto put extra bums on seats then all good, right?

I guess at the end of the day, as fans we can just sit back and enjoy the talent we have in front of us and not think too deeply on the whys and the wherefores - leave that to the administrators, officials and coaches.

# posted by Me @ 2:43 PM 0 comments

I've gotta say, these crowd figures aren't the best, are they? Just Persija and Persib averaged more than 10,000 per home game.

There were some mitigating factors - there are always mitigating factors aren't there?

A number of clubs, including Persib and Bali United suffered from fan boycotts, ostensibly due to admission prices but it's funny how the stay-aways return when the team is winning.

The Kanjuruhan Tragedy continues to cast a long shadow over the domestic game. Arema, who once took 60,000 to Jakarta to see them win the league, averaged around 130 at their home games some of which were played in Bali. And in the wake of the tragedy where innocent fans were killed trying to escape tear gas, away fans continue to be banned.

Reigning champions PSM played their home games initially in Pare Pare, about three hours north of Makassar, before ending the season on a different island in Balikpapan where they ground shared a while with Borneo.

RANS Nusantara, one of a new breed of vanity clubs, averaged 54 per home game while another, Dewa United, managed 606! Hardly surprising, the game I was at, I saw nowhere selling tickets! Relegated Bhayangkara will grace Liga 2 with their 300+ fans - hard to believe they were Liga 1 champions in 2017!

Undoubtedly clubs like Persis, Persebaya, PSS and PSIS can pull in much bigger numbers as can Bali United, Persita and a settled PSM.

But recent years have seen so called die hard fans quick to call for boycotts at perceived slights rather than getting behind their team at every home game.

God knows, Indonesian clubs struggle with cash flow at the best of times. Surely fans need to be filling the stadium, if it's local(!) and doing their bit to support their team rather than calling for people to stay away for flimsy reasons?

And clubs of course need to do more to engage with supporters and persuade them to come week in, week out. It's daft that a professional league has clubs than genuinely don't care if anyone watches them or not! 

# posted by Me @ 7:40 PM 0 comments