JAKARTA - The Indonesian Futsal Association (AFI) encourages the need for regular futsal tournaments for high school level (SMA) such as the 2026 Okezone National Championship which will take place next month.
AFI Secretary General, Budi Setiawan, said that tournaments such as the Okezone National Championship are a very good event in supporting the futsal ecosystem in Indonesia which is currently developing rapidly.
"Of course we appreciate that agendas like this can be implemented regularly, not just as a one-time agenda, but we hope that in the future this will be regular, continuous, and then can be developed in more cities," he said in a press conference in Jakarta.
He further admitted that the development of futsal in Indonesia could not be separated from the intervention of Hary Tanoesoedibjo as the first Chairman of the Indonesian Futsal Association and the number one person at iNews Media Group which oversees Okezone.
Budi said that AFI was very pleased with the commitment of Hary Tanoesoedibjo through his company to support Indonesian futsal even though he was no longer occupying the number one seat in the national futsal parent company.
"Even though he is no longer the general chairman, he still supports the development of Indonesian futsal. This we really appreciate," he said.
The implementation of the Okezone National Championship also received support from the coach of the Indonesian Futsal National Team, Hector Souto. He felt that an event like this was very much needed so that it could produce new talents to strengthen the Indonesian Futsal National Team.
"Over the past five years, futsal has developed so much and there are many programs that have been carried out to produce superior seeds. So, events like this are needed," he said.
Meanwhile, Deputy President Director of iNews Media Group, Syafril Nasution, said the Okezone National Championship was a real form of concern for Indonesian futsal outside of the reports that have been made.
"The main goal is because futsal has become one of the sports that is interesting and much sought after by the community, so we try to find futsal player seeds so that futsal will continue to improve," said Syafril.
Okezone National Championship will be held in four major cities in Indonesia, namely Jakarta, Surabaya, Yogyakarta, and Bandung. The first tournament will be held at the State University of Jakarta (UNJ) on June 13-14, 2026.
The organizers will invite as many as 24 high schools as participants in the tournament in each city. The teams will be divided into four groups to compete for the top two positions in the standings.
The teams that occupy the first and second place in each group will advance to the grand final which is planned to take place in Jakarta. This tournament is a continuation of the futsal tournament between high schools that were previously routinely held by Okezone in a number of regions.
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