An off beat look at Indonesian and South East Asian football from the terraces or the pub
Tuesday, April 07, 2026
A Familiar Name Returns To Singapore
Albirex Niigata have announced that from next season they will be known as FC Jurong as they complete the transition from a Japanese-owned club to one with a Singaporean identity.
Singapore football fans with longer memories than mine fondly recall a Jurong FC who played in the SLeague until 2003 when they withdrew due to financial reasons.
Albirex Niigata have long been associated with the Jurong area, playing their home games at the Jurong East Stadium and featuring line dancers from a local club as half-time entertainment!
Singapore teams have long since stopped announcing attendances at games so I guess we are only left with conjecture. Will Alibirex Niigata fans continue to support the team with its new identity? And what about fans of Jurong FC? They lost their side over 20 years ago. Will they care enough to return?
While there are questions that will only be answered next season, this has to be a positive move for Singapore football. Lion City Sailors look like they're gonna dominate for years to come, community-based clubs are still seen as a vital part of the league there and hopefully, the good burghers of Jurong get behind the new team in numbers
A financially strong side in the west of the island could provide strong competition to LCS and Tampines Rovers in the east and that has to be good for Singapore football, right?
Off-duty cops watch the police team play a government department in Malaysia's 2nd tier
The recent “Heritage Seven” controversy in Malaysia has renewed calls for an investment in Malaysia’s “Grassroots” as one way of solving the eternal problem of Malaysia underachieving at the world’s most popular, and greatest, sport.
The attempts to “short-cut” a way to success with the use of Heritage and Naturalised players in National and professional club sides is under renewed attack by many.
So, let’s look at “Grassroots” in Malaysia, and compare it to "Grassroots” elsewhere.
I’ve been in Malaysia 16 years, and I opine that “Grassroots” football in this splendid country is a fantasy. The whole system is flawed. And I don’t see much hope of it changing until, or unless, State FA’s care more about finding ways to effectively fund or support the sport of football, and less about the politics and benefits of being “in power”.
For virtually my whole time in South East Asia, I have bemoaned the lack of a pyramid of local clubs for people to play for, or support. When I came to work in Malaysia in 2010, I searched for a club team to train with, but literally couldn’t (easily) find one. I had assumed it would be easy enough because how can a sport continue to thrive without a conveyor belt of talent being tested in good clubs. But I found information about leagues and clubs in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur was almost invisible. Even now, unless you search for something specific, information is pretty tough to come by.
Without a strong football “pyramid”, there are precious few places for players who aren’t good enough at 16 to become pro to continue to play at a competitive level. Similarly there is no place to give game time to players dropping down from elite levels. There’s also no community team for a community to get behind and develop local pride.
State Leagues are – or should be – the effective level 5 of Malaysian football.
Level one is the 13 “professional” clubs in the Malaysia Super League (of whom at least five this season, again, are behind in paying players wages).
Level two is the AFL Semi pro league of 16 clubs which includes the likes of Selangor and Johor Darul Ta’zim 2nd XI’s, plus Perak, Kedah and Pahang State teams as well as the ATM (Army) and Immigration II teams. It is hardly “Community” based. Even at this level there are two teams (probably more) in financial turmoil with one – Machan – recently withdrawing from the League. And, to the surprise of no-one, a Korean club, Seoul Phoenix who mystifyingly made it into the League, also hit a financial barrier.
I’m confused exactly what levels three and four are in Malaysia, but Level 5 brings us to the State Leagues.
Let me give you a recent experience.
I stay in Petaling Jaya near the Old Town. I have long looked for a LOCAL non-league club to follow/support on the weekends I have off. MBPJ once upon a time sponsored a team that was good enough to win the Malaysia Cup, but then withdrew funding, and the “club” reverted to Amateur and State league status.
Recently I chanced upon a team training under two weak floodlights at a nearby football pitch, and on closer examination, I recognised the lean figure of Indra Putra Mahayuddin. The top-scoring local player in Malaysian football league history. Now 44, Indra was training for a new Selangor State League (FAS Super League) season with MBPJ, and a former broadcast colleague (and ex International) Nazzab Hidzan was coaching them from the sidelines.
The FAS Super League is one of a number of level 5 State Leagues under the overall umbrella of the "A3 Community League". I pledged to follow MBPJ as the season started.
Time for a comparison. In England, the most local (decent) non-League team near where I was born is called Prescot Cables. They have their own stadium, which they run and manage. And the stadium is in the town of Prescot (population 12,000). This season, Prescot are playing in the Northern Premier League Premier Division, which is level SEVEN (step 3 of level 7). They have an average attendance of 600 paying fans for each of their home games in what is (sadly) likely to be a relegation season.
Back in Malaysia, you’d imagine Petaling Jaya (population within the immediate administrative area of Petaling Jaya Council – MBPJ – 807,000) would have several decent standard clubs to look out for within a short distance.
Sadly, wrong. MBPJ play this season at the temporary Radia Arena pitches in Shah Alam (some 20 km from home), as do all the teams in the league.
So, the chances of people – the likes of me - in PJ heading out to see the game are remote, and hence the chance of developing a “community” feel to the club in the Malaysia A3 Community League is pretty much negligible.
Nonetheless, I made my way to the venue on Sunday for the season opener. The venue for all League games are two temporary artificial pitches built by a property developer. Anyway, I spy my team, and walk to the gate to try to get in to watch, only to be informed: “Tiada penonton” - “No spectators allowed”. Repeat. No spectators allowed. “Don’t you know who I am?” I tried. They didn’t.
At best, I was able to watch the game from behind one of the goals behind a big wire fence designed to keep people out. I joined some 150 or so souls in settling down to watch from outside the perimeter of the 2 pitches.
The chances of knowing WHO the players we were watching were? Nil.
Scoreboards? Nil.
Referees with full communication? Of course. Must keep up Cosplay appearances.
Floodlight. Yes – but around 500 lux when any decent semi-pro set-up would have 1,000 lux power at least.
This is level 5. This is a League containing teams supposedly close to the best 100 in Malaysia. There are no spectator facilities, and not even a thought that there should be.
From my distant vantage point, the football qualty was very respectable. MBPJ (ie Petaling Jaya) were very much second best to MBSA (ie Shah Alam) who ran out 5-0 winners and made Indra look and feel very much like the 44-year old player he is.
The issue of this post isn’t the quality of football on display; it’s the inaccessibility. It’s the lack of information. It’s the lack of “locality”. There’s no chance for PJ to have a “home” game as all the Super League matches are on the same pitch.
Within a kilometre of the MBPJ Offices close to where I live, there are at least five venues seemingly perfect for a Community team to have a base. All would need some work, but they are seemingly ideal bases to play “home” games at and to provide a club feel.
The local Dataran Petaling Jaya Padang with spectator facilities already in place and space for 2 pitches. MBPJ staff often play “walking football” on the grass after their work is done
The Astaka field (which is where I saw MBPJ train) which has two well-cared for pitches and yet is only occasionally used for competitive football;
A hockey stadium with excellent spectator facilities, lights and a pitch upon which I have never seen any hockey activity in 15 years living here;
Two rough and ready fields in the middle of the Old Town where a couple of academies sometimes use the unkempt pitches,
A walled-off pitch on PJ Padang, which has goal nets in place, and the only sport I have seen there in 15 years is scratch games of cricket.
These are potential places for a club to have a base IN the community. Here you have a chance to publicise YOUR club to YOUR community. You can publicise games and club events, host visiting teams and generate youth teams, and make a real community contribution with a local club. These clubs do not exist in Malaysia. And it;s not as if there isn't an example close by. The Cobra Rugby club and clubhouse shares the same Astaka field as mBPJ play on.
Instead, to see my local team, I have to travel 20 km for the right to not be able to watch the team from the sidelines.
“Grassroots”? Pah !
To labour the point. When I was a student in Dundee, Scotland, in the 1980’s, my local half decent club in the (now) Midlands League (level 6 in Scotland) was East Craigie. Established in the 1880’s. I went to train and played for a season with the team. East Craigie play in (guess?) the East Craigie district of Dundee in a small stadium with floodlights, spectator facilities and a well cared for pitch. From our club emerged a several players who played top flight Scottish league football.
Similarly, when I moved to South Wales for work in the late 80’s. I lived in a little village called Taffs Well (population 3,500). I went to the club and played a season for them before moving to a different team in Cardiff.
Taffs Well have a team currently playing in the Ardal South East League (level 3 in Wales). The club was founded in 1946 and have had some successes over the years at the semi-professional level. They, too, have a stadium IN the village of Taffs Well with 2 stands, floodlights, a clubhouse, a well-tended pitch, a thriving youth set-up and an online presence that informs us who the players are and when the matches are played.
THESE are examples of Grassroots clubs. Youth set ups and academies can then feed into these clubs. It is not easy to do, but these clubs I have played for, or support, are commonplace in the UK (England, Scotland and Wales).
This community club ideal does not exist in Malaysia. Until it does, and a pyramid of some proper, well-managed community-based clubs emerge, expect the need for short-cuts at the top of the ladder.
On this day in 2010 I got to witness Aremania up close and personal for the first time. Back in those distant days, Arema were seen as a big club and their supporters held up as a kind of ideal for the rest of the country. Before Brigata Curva Sud took the Indonesian football atmosphere to the world, there was Aremania.
Me being me, I'd hired a car and driver for the nearly one-hour drive south from Malang through kampungs and rice fields to the temple that was Kanjuruhan. We weren't alone on the narrow lanes, in front and behind were hundreds of Arema fans making the same journey, doubled up on motorcycles, flags waving as they weaved in and out of each other, klaxons sounding out of unity, not aggression
We arrived about 2 hours early and I took my seat in the press box opposite the open terrace where the hardcore Arema fans were already congregating. As we approached kick-off, the noise levels were going off the scale. The opponents were the unfancied Pelita Jaya but no one cared - they were there to see an Arema side chasing the Indonesia Super League title for the first time
The game wasn't bad. Inspired by Singapore duo Noh Alam Shah and M Ridwan, Arema hit Pelita Jaya for 6 with a hat trick for the mercurial NAS. Yes, I did watch the game, well, I had half an eye on the game. I was mesmerised by the spectacle of thousands of Aremania chanting, swaying as one
The beaches of Bali, the temples of Yogyakarta, the majesty of Mount Bromo are typically cited as among Indonesia's primary tourist attractions, but here in rural Kanjuruhan was a man-made attraction rivalling those more traditional destinations. Forget the Kop, San Siro or Camp Nou, here was a football crowd worth travelling for
In those days, Arema and their fans could do no wrong. They inspired a film called The Conductors and on this particular humid evening, each song, each chant, each performance was greeted by enthusiastic applause from the 'normals' sat in front of me in the main stand. Arema would end the season winning the league with an estimated 60,000 fans heading to Jakarta for the end of season party.
Indonesian football was blue and Arema were going to lead it to a glorious future.
Except of course, it never happened. Arema soon became a normal team, a mid-table side with the memory of 2010 burning fresh in the psyche of the supporters. Indonesian clubs have rarely been able to build on success. The league is just to competitive, and the clubs then were so poorly managed, the idea of sustained success was an alien one.
There have been a couple of runners-up since that heady season, but sadly, Arema's fall from grace was cemented on a fateful October day in 2022. Arema lost to their bitterest rival, Persebaya, at the Kanjuruhan Stadium. Some fans invaded the pitch, security responded with tear gas leading to a stampede. In the resulting crush, 135 fans lost their lives.
Arema Football Club has never been the same since. Frustrated at what they see as the poor response by the club, many fans have turned their back on the team. Whereas once, crowds regularly topped 15,000, this season many have been in the hundreds.
Some of those who perished may well be in the video above. Many others have just stopped going and I have no idea what it would take for them to return. All that remains of Aremania in their prime can be found in videos like this one and many other to be found on YouTube
Despite the rather pithy headline, as far as I'm aware, there is no relationship between Adhyaksa Banten or Garudayaksa - Jaksa in it's more common usage translates as Prosecutor. So, who are these two new teams that are leading the way in the Championship Group A and are scheduled to meet in a few days' time in a crucial top-of-the-table clash with only one guaranteed promotion place at stake?
Adhyaksa Banten
We'll start with Adhyaksa cos they come first alphabetically and as you look at a map of Indonesia left to right (west to east), you'd see them first! Oh, and my son was with their academy for a few months.
Only formed in 2020 as Farmel, Adhyaksa have had a stellar few years, winning Liga 3 Banten in 2023 and Liga 3 in 23/24.
Based in the Serpong/Tangerang Selatan area initially, now they stand on the verge of the top flight, they are playing their home games at the new Banten International Stadium in Serang, which they share with Dewa United, about an hour west of Tangerang.
With the Tangerang area already home to more established sides like Persita and Persikota, Adhyaksa have struggled to attract a fan base and with many attendances counted in the hundreds, home games at the 30,000 capacity ground won't have the best atmosphere.
Coached by the youthful Ade Suhendra, whose unremarkable playing career saw him line up for 14 different teams, Adhyaksa have built a squad rich in experience as they push for automatic promotion with Makan Konate perhaps the best known player.
The Mali attacking midfielder has been in Indonesia since 2012 and has played for 10 different teams as well as a couple of stints in Malaysia. The elegant midfielder is probably best remembered for winning the league with Persib in 2014 and his goal-scoring exploits with Arema over a couple of years.
Another familiar name will be Dedi Hartono who, like coach Suhendra and Konate, has spells with Barito Putra on his resume. His career started well, winning the upstart Liga Primer Indonesia with Semen Padang in 2011/12 and earning a few caps for Indonesia before succumbing to the usual career path in Indonesian football of bouncing from club to club, island to island, time zone to time zone. Now 38, he is enjoying a fine autumn to his football like, captaining the league leaders possibly to promotion.
The biggest headache any team has is finding goal scorers. Sometimes you can go years trying out different players and having zero luck. Or, occasionally, one can fall in your lap. Portuguese striker Adilson Silva has certainly taken to life in Indonesia's second tier with Adhyaksa. In his first season with the club he has scored 22 goals in 21 games and you wonder whether he has just a single-year contract or he signed up for several seasons - in which case any future move could come with a transfer fee!
Garudayaksa
If you're a powerful chap, there are a number of ways you can get involved in football. In Indonesia for example, the son of a former president got involved with his local side. Moving to Malaysia, the son of a state king took over a team going nowhere, rebranded them, invested millions and they now dominate the game in the peninsula.
Further north, in Thailand, an influential provincial political powerbroker bought the license of an existing club, moved them to his hometown, rebranded them and built them into the biggest club in the country.
In the examples of Malaysia (Johor Darul Ta'zim) and Thailand (Buriram United), money was invested in infrastructure as well as players and bred success keeping the locals happy with large crowds filling their new stadiums. In the case of Indonesia (Persis), there has been little to suggest the club has benefited from any largesse thrown their way as they struggle to fight against relegation from the Super League this season.
So, when the current president decided to go involved in football, which path did he choose? A very different path as he initially set up a football academy in 2023 in Bekasi. In 2025, he went for the more traditional route and bought the licence of PSKC Cimahi, moved them to Bekasi and rebranded them Garudayaksa. The current 2025/26 season is therefore their debut season.
Coached by M Ridwan, who doesn't seem to have a wiki page(!), Garudayaksa's star player is undoubtedly Andik Vermansyah. A nippy, pacy winger, Andik attracted rave reviews from his earliest days with Persebaya and had trials with teams in the US and Japan. When he did finally go abroad, it was to Malaysia and Selangor where he stayed four years. The other familiar name in their lineup would be Asep Berlian who spent six years with Madura United.
What to look for
In Adilson, Adhyaksa have the coach's dream striker. Then again, with only 16 goals conceded, Garudayaksa have the strong defence that coaches also desire. Two of those goals came in the 3-2 loss in Banten earlier in the season, while in the other meeting, the Bekasi-based side came out on top 2-0. With each side so far cancelling each other out in previous meetings, could the outcome be decided by something as banal as home advantage? Friday's game is being played at the Patriot Stadium in Bekasi. Is that alone enough to swing the game their way with the added bonus of three points, seeing them leapfrog their Yaksa rivals?
With the FIFA Series done and dusted and Indonesia generally receiving warm acclaim for their performances under new coach John Herdman, a look back at their performances in friendlies over the four and a bit years.
The first thing that leaps out is the quality of the opponent. For a side that fancies itself as a challenger for AFC Asian Cup Qualification, playing the likes of Chinese Taipei and Timor Leste isn't perhaps the best preparation
One area where Indonesia has traditionally struggled in international football is physicality, especially when coming up against the larger players from the Middle East. If the naturalisation programme, with players brought up mostly in Europe with a bigger frame, is to continue, then perhaps the Garuda would be in a better position to go toe to toe with physically stronger players
This would suggest targeting opponents from North Africa, Europe and perhaps even Central Asia
But over the years, when it comes to lining up friendlies, Indonesia is a slow starter. Yes, they got Argentina but do you think that was dreamt up by the PSSI or was it an AFA initiative? Likewise, Bulgaria only landed at Soekarno-Hatta because FIFA organised it
Organised football nations plan their friendlies months in advance and are not left scrambling around seeing who's left
I'm sensing a genuine feel-good factor around the national team at the moment. Not a bandwagon like we saw in 2010 where politicians and celebrities suddenly discovered football as the Merah-Putih advanced to the AFF Championship Final in front of massive crowds at Bung Karno before buggering off never to be seen again, but a more measured, more realistic approach where difficulties and weaknesses are acknowledged and appreciated
Over the years a number of Malaysian sides have fallen under the radar of this here blog. Partly cos my limited attention tends to focus on the 'bigger' clubs, or those with the supremely daft names. That doesn't mean I'm not unaware of other clubs, especially when they attract the headlines or overachieve.
But Sabah. Sabah haven't just fallen off the radar, they're in the bottom of a rarely opened draw tucked away in a dusty wardrobe at the back of the shed.
And yet, by their standards, these are heady days for the Rhinos. Three consecutive 3rd place finishes in the Super League shows a consistency they have never previously shown in the top flight. As if that hasn't been enough to set the pulses racing in Kota Kinabalu, this season has seen the team reach not one but two finals.
Back in December they reached the FA Cup Final only to lose to Johor Darul Ta'zim 5-0. But there still remains a second chance of lifting some silverware next month when they face Penang in the MFL Challenge Cup over two legs
The irony is this season's cup runs have come at a time when their consistency in the league has taken a hit. As things stand, Sabah sit 10th in the 13 team Super League, grateful perhaps there seems to be no relegation this season - perhaps in part due to a second tier rammed with reserve sides and other nonsense!
Looking at their squad and you are soon struck by the number of familiar names including, between the sticks, Khairul Fahmi. The vastly experienced Fahmi was part of the great Malasyian side which won the AFF Championship back in 2010. Indeed, he may well have even appeared in my Team of the Year a couple of times. You want more familiarity? I'm pretty sure I wrote a piece about Darren Lok years back but the search function on Blogspot ain't the best. Fergus Tierney is another. And, one more blast from the past would be Gary Robbat who I first came across playing for Malaysia in the AFF Under 16 Championships in Jakarta nearly 20 years ago!
Oh, and for good measure, Sabah who have a long history of appointing Australian coaches including Ron Smith started the current campaign with Jean-Paul de Marigny, once of APIA Leichhardt when I was living there
So yes, for those in the ABJDT (Anyone But Johor Darul Ta'zim) camp, the MFL Challenge Cup Final could be worth keeping an eye on!
Indonesia v St Kitts & Nevis 4-0 (Beckham Putra 2, Ole Romeny, Mauro Zijlstra) 26,703
Great to see even with the diaspora featuring, a local lad netted twice in new coach John Herdman's first game in charge of the national team. Later today, they play Bulgaria in what should be a touger challenge
Championship Group A
Persikad v Persekat 4-1 (Castenheiria, Afriyanto, Depa, Fatari; Sula) 413
Adhyaksa v Sumsel United 3-2 (Adilson 2, Fergonzi; Jacinto 2) 821
PSMS v PSPS 1-1 (Nurzadin; Gamaroni) 1,049
Persiraja v Sriwijaya 2-1 (Kurung, Popalzay; Sehabudin) 2,698
Garudayaksa v FC Bekasi City 4-0 (Everton Mendonca, Andik Vermansyah, Frydek, Maulana) 130
The Championship returned and with several games taking place on the same day as the Indonesian game crowds were predictably on the low side.
The Yaksa Twins (they're not related as far as I'm aware!) continue their fine form even though they have yet to develop any kind of fanbase. A familiar name, Andik on the scoresheet for Garudayaksa - I guess now he is at the veteran stage!
Another familiar name on the scoresheet was Omid Popalzay for Persiraja despite it being reported he had been called up by Afghanistan. His late goal ensured the three points and denied already relegated Sriwijaya a surprise draw
Anyway, next up is 1st v 2nd which could be fun. Wonder if the crowd will top 1,000?!
Championship Group B
Persela v Persiba 2-0 (Malik, Utomo) 0
Persipura v Deltras 3-0 (Sroyer, Mandowen, Mansaray) 14,993
Barito Putera v Persiku 1-1 (Rizky Pora; Renan da Silva) 4,845
Kendal Tornado v PSS 1-1 (Dimas Putra; Riko Simantunjak) 0
Group B, home to the more traditional teams, seemed to have little difficulty drawing in the fans - at least at the games where they were allowed!
Nearly 15,000 saw Persipura close the gap on PSS who surprisingly dropped points away to Tornado Kendal.
Another blast from the past, Rizky Pora, scored for his beloved Barito Putera as they stayed close to the leaders - Rizky has been with the club since 2013, if Wiki can be believed! Coach Teco has won the top division with Persija and Bali United (twice) so don't put a playoff push past the Laskar Antasari
At the other end of the table, PSIS moved out of the relegation play off place after thrashing Persipal. Another veteran, Beto Goncalves, showed their is life in the old trooper still with a hat trick. This continued PSIS's fine start under their new coach, something I highlighted a few weeks back
Johor Darul Ta'zim haven't lost a league game since April 2021 when they lost to Terengganu 0-1. Their 7-0 win over PDRM last week not only meant they had won their 12th consecutive title, it meant they had gone 104 games without a loss
With four games remaining, they are on target to go through the whole season winning EVERY league game, scoring 100 goals along the way
Of their seven goals conceded this season, three came in a single game
Jakarta Casual
