LIB Allows Non-contracted Team Players In The Menpora Cup

Illustration of the New Indonesian League (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - Operational Director of PT Liga Indonesia Baru (LIB) Sudjarno said that his party has invited the participating teams not to sign players to compete in the 2021 Menpora (Minister of Youth and Sports) Cup pre-season tournament.

"The important thing is there is an agreement between the club and the player so that the rights and obligations are clear", Sudjarno told Antara in Jakarta, Monday.

According to the Lampung Regional Police Chief for the 2016-2017 period, LIB has indeed implemented flexible regulations for the 2021 Menpora Cup. This is because the competition is one of the trials for clubs that prepare squads for League 1 and Indonesian League 2 for the 2021 season.

Also, the condition of national football which has been without competitive tournaments since March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic is a consideration.

This situation makes the club recruit many new players because its old personnel has run out of contracts.

"So there is no problem fielding foreign players, senior players, and young EPA (Elite Pro Academy) players", said Sudjarno.

Regarding foreign players, LIB invites each participating team to employ a maximum of four foreign players, with three coming from outside Asia and one from Asia.

"For foreign players, the important thing is that there are official documents such as the Kitas (Limited Stay Permit Card)", said Sudjarno.

However, the retired Police officer with the final rank of Inspector General of Police, revealed that the regulations regarding the player will still be discussed with all participating clubs.

"Hopefully on March 5, 2021, there will be regulations, then we ask for responses from the clubs to be discussed at a technical meeting", said Sudjarno.

The 2021 Menpora Cup pre-season tournament, which takes place on March 21-April 25, 2021, will be followed by 18 League 1 teams.

Four regions host the group stage, namely Bandung, Sleman, Solo, and Malang.

By the agreement of the National Police, Kemenpora, PSSI, and LIB, the 2021 Menpora Cup must be implemented with strict implementation of the COVID-19 prevention health protocol.