The exclusion of Indonesian clubs Malut United and Persebaya Surabaya from the 2025/26 ASEAN Club Championship (ACC) draw highlights a staggering breakdown in communication and a lack of transparency from both PT Liga Indonesia Baru (LIB) and the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF). This administrative misstep ultimately cost Indonesia their rightful place in Southeast Asia’s premier club competition.
Malut United and Persebaya had originally been chosen to represent Indonesia in the ACC, having finished third and fourth, respectively, in the 2024/25 Liga 1 Indonesia season. Their participation was determined through a joint agreement between PT LIB and the 18 Liga 1 clubs, with the intention of easing fixture congestion for league champions Persib Bandung and runners-up Dewa United—both of whom are scheduled to compete in the AFC Champions League Two (ACL2) and AFC Challenge League (ACGL)
This approach mirrored a precedent set by Malaysia in the previous ACC edition, when Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) and Selangor FC withdrew due to overlapping domestic and continental obligations. In their place, Kuala Lumpur City FC and Terengganu FC—runners-up in Malaysia’s domestic cup competitions—represented the nation. PT LIB and the Football Federation of Indonesia (PSSI) likely assumed similar leeway would apply and thus failed to formally confirm the arrangement with the AFF.
However, the AFF failed to publicly disclose a crucial update to the tournament’s eligibility criteria: for the 2025/26 edition, only domestic league champions and either runners-up or national cup winners would be accepted. This rule change was likely introduced to maximize commercial appeal and avoid another round of high-profile withdrawals like those from JDT and Selangor.
While this new standard wasn’t clearly communicated, it may have quietly taken effect during the previous edition. When Persija Jakarta, 2022/23 Liga 1 runners-up, withdrew due to financial difficulties, their replacement—2023/24 Liga 1 regular season champions Borneo FC Samarinda—fit the rumored eligibility criteria.
Hints of the AFF’s more assertive stance also emerged when JDT—whose owner Tunku Ismail has openly criticized the federation—suddenly confirmed participation in the 2025/26 ACC, alongside Selangor. It can be presumed that both clubs were pressured into joining under threat of sanctions. Considering JDT II and Selangor II—reserve squads with experience in the now-defunct MFL Cup—are strong enough to compete regionally, it’s plausible that these second-string sides will enter under the name of their senior teams.
Fixture congestion continues to be a growing concern for ASEAN clubs. Thai giants like Buriram United—defending ACC champions—enjoy the advantage of deep squads capable of competing on multiple fronts. BG Pathum United and True Bangkok United share similar depth. Singapore’s Lion City Sailors opted to deprioritize the ACC in favor of their ACL2 campaign. The result? A lackluster ACC group-stage exit but a spectacular run to the ACL2 final.
Indonesian sides, however, lack that luxury. Persib may have Bandung United as a reserve side, but realistically, sending a team that couldn’t progress past Liga 4 West Java into a regional tournament was never an option.
Should Persib or Dewa United have sacrificed their continental ambitions for the ACC? In Southeast Asia’s often unforgiving football culture, the backlash would’ve been fierce—accusations of national shame, public outrage, and media storm inevitable.
PT LIB’s decision to nominate Malut United and Persebaya as ACC representatives was pragmatic—aimed at ensuring competitive balance across multiple fronts. But it ultimately backfired when the AFF rejected the proposal mere days before the official draw.
What followed was a perfect storm: a league operator that failed to double-check with the regional authority, and a regional federation that failed to properly broadcast critical changes. A misalignment so severe it cost an entire nation its spot in a continental tournament.
Public backlash in Indonesia has been intense, with fans pointing fingers at both PT LIB and the AFF. Fueling their frustration is the inclusion of other teams like BG Pathum United (third in Thai League 1) and Dynamic Herb Cebu (fourth in the Philippines Football League)—both of whom were accepted into the ACC despite not meeting the top-two league finish or cup-winner requirement.
How did they get in?
Thailand’s case is simple: Buriram United automatically qualified as defending ACC champions. Having also swept every domestic title, their ACC slot as league champions was passed down to runners-up True Bangkok United, with BG Pathum United claiming the second spot as third-place finishers.
The Philippines Football League (PFL), however, executed a clever workaround. At season’s end, the PFL staged a mini-tournament between the top four league finishers to determine its ACC representative. Despite league champions Kaya FC-Iloilo and runners-up Manila Digger falling short in the tournament, it was fourth-placed Cebu who emerged victorious. This not only earned them the ACC berth but also satisfied the AFF’s criteria—on a technicality, but a valid one. Smart strategy, smart execution.
In contrast, Indonesia’s top-flight organizers relied on assumed precedents, while the AFF withheld crucial information. The result? A costly miscommunication that saw one of Southeast Asia’s strongest footballing nations locked out of its own regional showpiece. The lesson: in modern football, strategy off the pitch matters just as much as results on it.