The Minister Of Youth And Sports Will Discuss With The National Police Chief Regarding The Advanced Liga 1 Indonesia Permit

Menpora Zainudin Amali. (Doc. Kemenpora Site)

JAKARTA - Minister of Youth and Sports (Menpora) Zainudin Amali confirmed that he would discuss with National Police Chief Listyo Sigit Prabowo to obtain crowd permits related to the planned continuation of the Indonesian League 1. This was conveyed by the Minister of Youth and Sports after holding a meeting with the competition operator for Liga 1 PT Liga Indonesia Baru (PT LIB) at the Kemenpora Building, Friday, November 18.

"I will discuss with the National Police Chief because the Police have the authority to issue crowd permits," said the Minister of Youth and Sports, quoted by Antara, Friday, November 18.

The meeting between the Menpora and the league operator also discussed the importance of the continuation of the league for the benefit of the Indonesian national team. This important point in the meeting will be brought by the Minister of Youth and Sports when meeting with the National Police Chief later.

Leagues 1, 2, and 3 are considered necessary again so that the best national players can continue to hone their abilities. The reason is, Indonesia will face a number of major tournaments such as the 2022 AFF Cup, 2023 Asian Cup, 2023 U-20 Asian Cup and, of course, 2023 U-20 World Cup.

The government understands very well what LIB said. The coach of the Indonesian national team Shin Tae-yong wants the players to maintain their performance. We will try to see how this competition can run again, of course, with fundamental changes," said the Menpora.

Meanwhile, President Director of PT LIB Ferry Paulus emphasized that currently his party is continuing to move quickly to resume Liga 1. This competition has stopped since early October 2022 after the bloody incident occurred at the Kanjuruhan Stadium, Malang.

To be able to continue the competition, LIB has also made several simulations related to the continuation of Liga 1. However, until now it is not certain when the competition will start again.

"The resumption of the league is related to several things, including stadium security regulations, so a serious and strict investigation is needed," said Ferry.

In addition, LIB has not yet determined the Liga 1 format. For now, there are two options that can be an option, namely the format of the cages as usual or a return to the bubble as in the 2021/2022 season, but it all depends on the green light from the government.

Previously, LIB had three schedules in their plans for the continuation of the Indonesian League 1. The three schedules will be November 18, November 25, and December 2, 2022. However, currently, operators are more inclined to choose December 2, 2022, as the date for the 2022-2023 Indonesian League 1 re-implementation.