The Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Indonesian league operators PT Liga Indonesia Baru (PT LIB), held on July 7, ushered in a series of sweeping reforms aimed at revitalizing domestic football. Chief among the changes was the rebranding of Indonesia’s top two tiers—Liga 1 and Liga 2—into the Super League and Championship, respectively. PT LIB itself will also operate under a new name: the I League.
One of the most notable developments was the appointment of Takeyuki Oya as General Manager of Competitions and Operations for the I League—making him the first foreigner to hold such a high-ranking position in the Indonesian league system. In a move aimed at decentralization, the Championship is also expected to have its own independent league operator going forward.
Other key reforms include an increase in the foreign player quota from eight to eleven, with a maximum of eight allowed in any starting lineup. In a bid to promote youth development, clubs must now include at least five U-23 players in their matchday squads and are required to field at least one young player for a minimum of 45 minutes per match.
Persib Bandung general manager Glenn Sugita was also named as the new commissioner of the I League, signaling greater club-level influence in league governance.
Oya’s appointment aligns Indonesia with regional trends, making the Super League the third top-tier competition in Southeast Asia—after Thailand’s Thai League and Cambodia’s Premier League—to feature a foreign executive at the helm. His arrival follows mounting calls for Indonesia to adopt international best practices, inspired by the successful tenures of Benjamin Tan (Singapore) in Thailand and Satoshi Saito (Japan) in Cambodia. Notably, thanks to the groundwork laid by Saito, the Cambodian Premier League has recently surpassed Indonesia’s Super League in the AFC league rankings.
A veteran of Japanese football administration, Oya brings 16 years of experience from the J.League, where he served in various capacities including media promotion, global business development, and as an AFC match commissioner. His mandate includes resolving the long-standing scheduling issues that have plagued the league since its Liga 1 days and elevating overall competition standards that have stagnated in recent years.
Speaking at the AGM, Oya expressed confidence in the league’s potential. “Clubs like Persija Jakarta, Persib Bandung, and Bali United have the quality and stature to play in the AFC Champions League Elite,” he said, emphasizing the importance of structural reform in achieving that goal.
With bold new branding, policy shifts, and a renewed focus on professionalism, Indonesian football appears poised to take a significant step forward—not only in Southeast Asia, but potentially on the broader Asian stage.