Many people were wondering when Liga 1 Indonesia will be started. PT Liga Indonesia Baru (LIB) as the organizer hasn’t announced the date yet it has been three months since 2018 started.
Firstly, the league would be started at February 23, but since PT LIB hasn’t paid off their debt to the clubs, the schedule was delayed until March 3, and then delayed again until 10 March. The uncertainty regarding the schedule has made some dissatisfaction and confusion among supporters and clubs in Indonesia.
Then finally, came the good news. On March 3, PT LIB claimed that they have paid their debt off to the Liga 1 2017 contestants. The debt, which is the subsidize payment that has becomes the main reason for the postponement, will finally be surmounted.
On 8 March, PT LIB said that they will hold the meeting for the stakeholder (RUPS). PSSI as the federation will also attend that meeting. One of the main thing that will be discussed is about the schedule of the upcoming Liga 1.
The meeting finally concluded that Liga 1 will be started on March 23rd, 2018. The news was firstly announced by Persebaya FC official Twitter account, @Persebayaupdate. The current champions, BhayangkaraFC, will face Persija Jakarta in the opening match. Erwin Fitriansyah, a Bola.com journalist, said on his Twitter that this match will be held in StadionUtamaGelora Bung Karno, Jakarta.
Previously, PSSI gave three options for PT LIB regarding the schedule for Liga 1. There were three options, March 18, March 23, or March 24, for the opening of the league.
If the league started on March 18, the league will be over by October. In order to prepare for the AFF Cup 2018, which will be held in November, PT LIB and PSSI decided to reduce the time frame of the league from 34 weeks to 24 weeks.