Srikandi Merdeka Cup 2026 is a target for Antara to qualify for the AFC U-17

JAKARTA - The holding of the 2026 Caffino Srikandi Merdeka Cup tournament will be a target between the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) to prepare the Indonesian U-17 Women's National Team (Timnas) for the AFC Cup pre-qualification which will take place in October 2026.

The 2026 Srikandi Merdeka Cup will run from August 14-23, 2026 at the Supersoccer Arena, Kudus, Central Java. The six countries invited to the U-16 girls' football tournament are Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia.

Member of the PSSI Executive Committee (Exco), Vivin Sungkono Cahyani, said that the tournament was used as a selection event for players and coaching teams.

"This is an intermediate target and the main target is the AFC Cup pre-qualification in October 2026," said Vivin in a press conference held in Jakarta, Wednesday, July 29, 2026.

Indonesia has a total of two teams to compete in the 2026 Srikandi Merdeka Cup. A total of 46 players who were sent to the tournament will be re-selected to form the main squad.

Vivin explained that the invited countries are countries that have a commitment to coaching young women's football so that the quality of the match is expected to be balanced.

"Hopefully the results will go well and we can present a team with the best quality that we have prepared for a long time plus the best head coach and official team for Indonesia in the future," he said.

The majority of Indonesian players who will compete in the 2026 Srikandi Merdeka Cup are the result of monitoring from the Hydroplus Soccer League, which previously had gone through the coaching process at the MilkLife Soccer Challenge.

The draw for the 2026 Srikandi Media Cup group was held on July 23, 2026. Group A contains Garuda Pertiwi (Indonesia), Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Saudi Arabia, while Group B is inhabited by Thailand, Singapore, Jordan, and Putri Nusantara (Indonesia).