Government Starts Relaxing Crowd Rules, PT LIB Refuses To Hastily Present Spectators In League 1

JAKARTA - The provincial government has begun to relax some regulations regarding crowds in the midst of the slowing down of the COVID-19 pandemic situation. Even so, PT Liga Indonesia Baru (LIB) as the operator of the Liga 1 competition did not want to rush to bring spectators on the field.

Currently, the League 1 competition is centered in Bali. Even though it is a tourist destination, PT LIB doesn't want to be careless. The reason is, to be able to bring spectators directly on the field, PT LIB still has to coordinate with many parties.

"We must first coordinate with PSSI, then with the government including parties such as BNPB, Kemenpora, Kemenkes, Kemenko Marves-Java-Bali PPKM Coordinator," said PT LIB President Director Akhmad Hadian Lukita as quoted by Antara.

“After that, there will be a coordination meeting whose results will be a recommendation for the Regional Police and the local Provincial Government. So the process is still long," he explained.

Seeing how long the process has to go through to bring the audience in a guaranteed safe condition, PT LIB has not been able to target when the 2021/2022 Liga 1 match can be attended directly by the audience.

Moreover, LIB also needs to adjust supporting facilities and infrastructure such as software. Actually, said Ahmad Hadian, the related system is already available but it must be re-adjusted because of the obligation to add vaccines or boosters.

"Our system is ready. However, before, right, two doses of vaccine were required, now it's three. That affects the SOP," he said.

Furthermore, PT LIB promised to immediately follow up on government regulations regarding spectators as stated in the Instruction of the Minister of Home Affairs Number 15 of 2022 concerning the Enforcement of Restrictions on Community Activities Level 4, Level 3 and Level 2 Corona Virus Disease 2019 in the Java and Bali Regions.

Article 8 of the Ministry of Home Affairs states that all sports competitions are allowed to be watched by the public in stadiums provided that the number is in accordance with the status of the level of COVID-19 cases.

For three-level districts or cities, stadiums or arenas can be filled with spectators with a maximum capacity of 50 percent of the total quota, 75 percent for level two areas and 100 percent for level one.