Southeast Asia Indonesia

How Liga 3 Clubs are Paving the Future for Indonesian Football

Ever since the start of the new ’10s, Indonesian football has been going on an ascendency in club-level, despite the suspension of the sport by FIFA in 2015. From traditional clubs such as Arema FC and Persib Bandung implementing professionalism in all aspects of club management to the rise of new, professionally-run clubs such as Bali United, Madura United, and most recently, RANS Cilegon and Dewa United. This increase of professionalism came as more and more awareness is being given towards the development of football within Indonesia, a country already known for its football-mad people.

However, the rise of new professional clubs within Indonesia did not come without a price. A number of traditional clubs were sacrificed in order for these new clubs to rise and develop, often much to the ire of Indonesian football purists.

The legendary Pelita Jaya, a club that was a force during the 90s, had to undergo a number of changes throughout the years since 2000 due to frequent changes in ownership. From Pelita Solo, to Pelita Krakatau Steel, to Pelita Jaya Purwakarta, to Pelita Jawa Barat, to Pelita Jaya Karawang, before eventually becoming Pelita Bandung Raya and Pelita Persipasi Bandung Raya. The legendary Pelita Jaya brand was finally erased from Indonesian football history for good after the club’s purchase by Achsanul Qosasi, who renamed the club into Madura United in 2016.

Even the existence of Bali United, often regarded as one of the gold standards of professionalism within Indonesian football, did not come without the sacrifice of Putra Samarinda, a well-established club ran to the ground by financial crisis and corruption.

Borneo FC couldn’t exist without the extinction of Perseba Super Bangkalan, Badak Lampung FC will never exist without the eradication of Perseru Serui, AHHA PS Pati couldn’t be here without the dissolution of Putra Sinar Giri Gresik, RANS Cilegon was born thanks to the rebrand of Cilegon United, Dewa United couldn’t exist without the disappearance of Martapura FC, Sulut United came into being thanks to the expungement of both Persikad Depok and Bogor FC from Indonesian football history, and don’t get me started with both Bhayangkara FC and Persikabo 1973, each born with the cost of the extinctions of Persikubar Kutai Barat, Persiram Raja Ampat, and Persikabo Kabupaten Bogor.

Despite the extent of professionalism and their commitment to helping Indonesian football reach a brand new, modern age, the existence of these clubs was often frowned upon by purists within the country, who saw them as “instant clubs” who “bought their way into Indonesian football” instead of “fighting it out from the lowest tier of Indonesian football like everybody else.”

Fortunately for these purists, a number of clubs within the Liga 3 – the lowest tier of Indonesian football – have shown the same levels of ambitious professionalism as their “instant club” peers, and with the right amount of investment and time, they could become a force of their own in Indonesian football. Granted some of these clubs were born out of acquisitions and takeovers, but others are born purely from that desire of clawing their way up the Indonesian football pyramid all the way into the top.

Let’s start with the Maluku Islands in the eastern part of Indonesia. The region was poorly-represented in the Indonesian top-flight, with the last top-flight club from the region being North Maluku’s Persiter Ternate between 2006 and 2008. This came as a huge irony as the Maluku Islands has produced a number of top talents over the past few decades, ranging from legends of old such as Imran Nahumarury and Rochy Putiray, modern-day playing senators such as Ricardo Salampessy and Hasyim Kipuw, to current stars such as Manahati Lestusen and Ramdani Lestaluhu.

With that concern in mind, Imran, together with three other Maluku-born sons – Irwan Maulana, Saidna Azhar, and Sofyan Lestaluhu, decided to found a new football club with aims of representing the region in the Indonesian top flight as well as nurturing the next generation of Maluku footballing talent. Simply called Maluku FC, the newly-established club was formed with hopes that it could become the beacon of hope for football within the islands, which covers both the Maluku and North Maluku Provinces.

Despite Imran is no longer on board at Maluku FC – he had recently worked as the head coach of PSIS Semarang in the Liga 1 – the dream of bringing Maluku back into the Indonesian footballing map is still well and truly alive, with the club brimming with young local talent having won the 2021 Liga 3 Maluku. With a ticket to the 2021 Liga 3 national round in hand, Maluku FC kept on improving themselves as they seek to establish professionalism in all aspects, appointing a new vice-president and a new legal adviser. As bigger challenges await this 10-month old club, excitement is rife within the Maluku Islands as the region puts high hopes in Maluku FC making it into the 2022 Liga 2.

Belitong FC are another small yet ambitious club in the Liga 3, who had just won the 2021 Liga 3 Bangka Belitung. Unlike Maluku FC, Belitong FC were an already established club, having been founded in 2011, however, this year they’ve shown some ambitions as they aim to become the first club from Belitung Regency to reach the Liga 2. They have an established presence on social media, as well as a professionally-run website, showing that they are committed to catching as many supporters as they could from not only Belitung Regency, but also beyond. Additionally in footballing aspects, they have appointed three high-profile figures in two vital positions. Up-and-coming coach Ardiles Rumbiak, who managed to dominate the Liga 3 Papua with Persemi Mimika, was appointed as head coach, while Ridwan Oesman, who worked with KS Tiga Naga in the Liga 2, was appointed as technical director. Last but not least, Indonesia national team legend Budi Sudarsono was handed the reins as Belitong FC’s academy coach, overseeing the club’s next generation of players.

While both Maluku FC and Belitong FC kept their Liga 2 dreams alive by advancing into the 2021 Liga 3 national round, the same couldn’t be said for our third club, Serpong City FC. Starting off as a football academy established by current Sulut United boss Ricky Nelson, as well as having the full support of the Ronny Pattinasarany Foundation, a foundation dedicated to preventing drug use amongst youths, Serpong City boasts state-of-the-art facilities in the form of Sabnani Park, an international-standard field certified by FIFA aimed at developing footballing talent within children aged 5-12.

Their ambitions of becoming a full-fledged professional club playing in the top two tiers of Indonesian football were also fueled by their cooperation with Borneo FC, with the Liga 1 club taking over the club’s management. Nabil Husein, the Pesut Etam‘s boss, alongside Borneo’s sponsors Mochamad Chandra Kurniawan (CRK) and Daniel Zii (Mr. Cuanisasi) became Serpong City’s new backers, while Dewi Noviandani, Kuntum Raisa Amalia, and Hannan Harris became the club’s new chairwomen.

Both Kemal Chakraditya Sabnani and Ricky, who were with Serpong City since day one, retained their positions within the club’s new structure, while former Persiwa Wamena and Arema head coach Agus Yuwono became the club’s new gaffer.

Serpong City were reinforced with a plethora of young, up-and-coming talent for the 2021 Liga 3 Banten season, even lining up with a naturalized defender as their captain, Cameroon-born Mohammadou Alhadji.

Unfortunately despite the talent at their disposal and their excellent run throughout the 2021 Liga 3 Banten season, Serpong City were unable to advance into the national round, having been eliminated in the Liga 3 Banten semifinal by traditional provincial powerhouses Persikota Tangerang, who went on to win the entire competition and advance to the national round as a result. Persikota themselves were on the ascendancy of their own as well, having been bought out by actor Gading Marten prior to the 2021 season.

Other than Maluku FC, Belitong FC, and Serpong City, there are plenty of other fledgling professional clubs that are seeking to reach the Liga 2 promised land in this season’s Liga 3.

In East Java, we have the likes of AC Majapahit, who took over the license of Jember United, and Putra Delta Sidoarjo, who took over the license of Putra Jombang. The latter caused some controversy due to their similar name with Sidoarjo’s already established club, Deltras Sidoarjo (Delta Putra Sidoarjo). There’s also NZR Sumbersari, a Malang-based amateur club that seeks to make it into the big time thanks to investment from new sponsors NZR Group.

In West Java, we have Depok City FC, who took over the license of Persebam Babakan Madang Bogor, and Pakuan City FC, who took over the license of Cirebon FC. The latter, based in Bogor, recruited former Penang FA and Persiba Balikpapan head coach Jaino Matos as their sporting director.

Meanwhile, in Jakarta, there’s Jakarta United, who had won the Liga 3 DKI Jakarta for the past two seasons, as well as Batavia FC, the new pet project of former Persija Jakarta general director Gede Widiade.

There’s also East Bali FC, backed by Gede Pasek Suartika, and Gianyar-based Sahadewa Galapagos United in the island of Bali, as well as Pekanbaru United in the Liga 3 Riau, who were founded by current Dewa United striker Herman Dzumafo.

The emergence of clubs that put professionalism as their forefront of operations within the lowest tier of Indonesian football is something that’s quite refreshing for the sport in the archipelago, during a period of relative stagnation that was plagued with numerous controversies ranging from federation incompetence, underperforming national team, and the disappearance of historical teams due to dramatic rebrands done by their new owners.

While the debate regarding Indonesia’s professionally run, yet “instant” clubs going up against the country’s more traditional outfits will continue on until the end of time, the presence of these fledging professional clubs working their way up from the Liga 3 is a sign that Indonesian football is indeed moving towards the right direction in terms of the presence of professional clubs.

Should the likes of Maluku FC, Belitong FC, Serpong City, and more retain their hard work that they’ve done this season, it’ll be no surprise that they’ll be rubbing shoulders with the likes of Bali United, Persija, Arema, Persib, and others in the Liga 1 in the near future.