YOGYAKARTA PT Liga Indonesia Baru (LIB) as the operator of the Indonesian League announced three Indonesian clubs that appeared in the AFC Cup and the Asian Champions League for the 2023/2024 season.
President Director of PT LIB Ferry Paulus said Indonesia got 3 slots in the inter-club competition in the Asian continent. The three slots are the Champions League play-off, the AFC Cup group stage, and the AFC Cup play-off.
"PSSI has written to the AFC regarding the nominations and criteria from Indonesian representatives who are entitled to appear in three slots that have been informed by the AFC," Paulus said, quoted from the official website of PT LIB, Saturday, April 15, 2023.
Ferry said that the first club to represent Indonesia was determined by playing off between the winners of the 2021-2022 Liga 1 season, namely Bali United, against the winner of the 2022-2023 Season League, namely PSM Makassar.
The team that has won the play-off match will directly represent Indonesia in the Asian Champions League. Meanwhile, the club that loses will immediately get a place in the AFC Cup.
Meanwhile, the Indonesian club that appears in the AFC Cup playoff is the runner-up of BRI Liga 1 for the 2022/2023 season. This team does not need to compete with the runners up of BRI Liga 1 for the 2021/2022 season.
"There is no longer a play-off for the third slot. PSSI has already determined it directly," said Ferry Paulus.
Ferry said the AFC gave full freedom to the Indonesian Football Association and League operators to determine the criteria for participants sent to compete in competitions between clubs throughout Asia.
"So, in this case, what has been determined by PSSI is already known by the AFC. They are just waiting for the final result later," concluded Ferry.
In more detail, here is a list of Indonesian clubs appearing in the AFC Cup and the 2023/2024 Asian Champions League Season:
For additional information, in 2022 there are only two Indonesian representatives in the Asian level competition. They are Bali United and PSM Makassar. Both appeared in the 2022 AFC Cup.
Bali United, who at that time was the champion of Liga 1 2019, was chosen because Liga 1 2020 was canceled due to COVID-19. Meanwhile, Liga 1 2021/2022 was still rolling and was only completed in April 2022.
On the other hand, PSM Makassar was chosen because it holds the status of the 2018/2019 Indonesian Cup Champion.
PSM Makassar representing Indonesia because the 2020 Indonesian Cup was also not held due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the 3 editions of competition between clubs at Asia's newest level, Indonesia actually has the potential to have three slots.
The three slots are allotted one ticket to the Asian Champions League playoffs, one AFC Cup group stage ticket, and one AFC Cup playoff ticket if representatives in the Asian Champions League playoffs manage to pass the group stage.
However, since 2018/2019, no Indonesian team has escaped the Asian Champions League play-offs. Therefore, there are only 2 Indonesian clubs that have appeared in the AFC Cup, namely Bali United and PSM Makassar.
In the 2023 AFC PSM Makassar Cup, they managed to advance to the ASEAN Zone final. However, they lost to Malaysia's Kuala Lumpur FC with a score of 5-2.
Meanwhile, Bali United was eliminated first in the group phase. Serdadu Tridatu was eliminated by the Malaysian League club, namely Kedah Darul Aman.
This is information about Indonesian clubs appearing in the AFC Cup and the Asian Champions League for the 2023/2024 season. Read on VOI.ID to get other interesting news.
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