Jacksen Tiago Joins as Coach for Early Age Girls Football

JAKARTA - Former Indonesian National Team Coach, Jacksen F. Tiago, officially joined as head coach with Timo Scheunemann at the MilkLife Soccer Challenge, an early age girls' soccer tournament initiated by the Bakti Olahraga Djarum Foundation and MilkLife.

Jacksen said that the initiative to hold a tournament for the 10 and 12-year-old age group (KU) was a good step in producing professional players who would later defend the national team in important stages.

"For them to reach the level of the Indonesian National Team, this is the path so I don't think it's important, but it's very important because this can be said to be one of the existing platforms for young female athletes," said Jacksen in a statement.

The 58-year-old tactician joined as head coach in the 2025-2026 MilkLife Soccer Challenge Tangerang & Semarang Series 2 2025-2026 which took place from January 13 to 18, 2026.

The Brazilian coach said that there is a significant difference between training male and female athletes, especially from a psychological aspect. He emphasized that there must be a more personal approach to dealing with female athletes.

"The male cycle is different from the female so it will be the hardest challenge. The mood of the women is very unstable, so you have to understand that to be able to handle them," said Jacksen.

The MilkLife Soccer Challenge Tangerang Series 2 2025-2026 was attended by 1,424 students from 135 elementary schools (SD) and madrasah ibtidaiyah (MI). Meanwhile, in the Semarang series, a total of 1,239 students from 65 SD and MI were registered as participants.

Teddy Tjahjono as the Program Director of the MilkLife Soccer Challenge said that there was a significant increase, both in terms of the number of participants and the quality of the players who competed.

"In terms of quality, it is also because they have prepared themselves and know what the schedule is like. So, they have better preparation among the participants," said Teddy.

The title for the KU-10 category in the Tangerang series was brought home by SDN Pinang 3 C after defeating British School Jakarta 2-1 in the final match. Meanwhile, in the 12-year-old category, the title was secured by SDN Kunciran 4 C after defeating SDN Kebayoran Lama Selatan 19 with a score of 3-2.

In Semarang, the title of champion in the 10-year-old category was won by SDN Klepu 03 after stopping SDN Kalibanteng Kidul 03. Meanwhile, the champion title in the 12-year-old category belongs to SDN Sendangmulyo 04, who defeated SDN Sendangmulyo 02 in the final.

In addition to holding tournaments for the 10 and 12-year-old age groups, the MilkLife Soccer Challenge 2025-2026 also again presents the SenengSoccer Festival for the eight-year-old age group. In Semarang, this activity was attended by 97 students, while in Tangerang 35 students.

Furthermore, the 2025-2026 MilkLife Soccer Challenge Series 2 will roll out in Bandung and Yogyakarta from January 27 to February 1, 2026.