There Will Be A Pre-season Tournament, Menpora Cup From March 20 - April 25, 2021

Illustration (Pixabay)

JAKARTA - PSSI Chairman Mochamad Iriawan said the national football pre-season tournament, which is a preparation for the League 1 and League 2 competitions in the 2021 season, is called the 2021 Menpora Cup.

According to Iriawan, in a virtual meeting with Menpora Zainudin Amali, President Director of PT Liga Indonesia Baru (LIB) Akhmad Hadian Lukita, with club representatives and supporters at the Kemenpora Building, Jakarta, Thursday, the name was taken based on his party's meeting with PT LIB.

"Why do we call the 2021 Menpora Cup? First, because in this competition, Kemenpora can supervise technical matters, especially the implementation of health protocols," said the man who is usually called Iwan Bule.

Then, he continued, with the presence of the Menpora in the main headline of the tournament, PSSI and LIB hoped that the cooperation with the government regarding the implementation of professional football competitions during the COVID-19 pandemic would be tighter.

Finally, the naming was based on the great efforts of Menpora Zainudin Amali who helped PSSI and LIB in obtaining permission from the Police.

"Pak Menpora has provided a personal guarantee so that the permit can be issued. Thank you, Pak Menpora," said Iwan.

The pre-season tournament itself is scheduled to take place from March 20 to April 25. However, until this news was written, the National Police had not yet issued a permit for this competition.

Later, there will be 20 teams participating, namely 18 League 1 clubs and two teams from League 2.

The competition will go through the group stage. The organizer determines that there are four groups, where one group contains five teams. Each group will then run all matches in the designated area.

There are four regions that will host the group stage, namely Solo, Bandung, Sleman and Malang. However, alternatives have also been prepared, namely Solo, Bandung, Malang and Palembang.

The location selection was based on the recommendation of the National Police which assessed the number of sufferers of COVID-19.

From the group phase, the best teams step into the last eight, then the semifinals and finals. There is also a slot for third place.

The PSSI General Chair added that the pre-season tournament would be the entrance to League 1 and 2 for the 2021 season. If the Menpora Cup tournament could run smoothly as planned, the National Police would grant permission for Leagues 1 and 2.

"If the tournament goes well, then Leagues 1 and 2 can be allowed," said Iriawan.

Therefore, PSSI reminded all parties, including supporters, to comply with the established COVID-19 prevention health protocols.

Supporters are asked not to come to the stadium and not to watch together (Nobar) in order to avoid the crowd.