Big match to mark opening of Indonesian soccer season
Big match to mark opening of Indonesian soccer season
JAKARTA (JP): A match pitting two national soccer giants is
scheduled for Nov. 27 marking the opening tournament of the semi-
professional league as well as amateur clubs.
Jakarta's Pelita Jaya, winner of the former semi-professional
league Galatama, will lock horns against the national amateur
interclub champion Persib of Bandung, in their Western Group
match at Senayan stadium before Vice President Try Sutrisno. The
vice president is scheduled to open the start of the league
competitions.
"Both sides deserve the honor of playing in the opening match
of the season since soccer enthusiasts have been waiting for a
clash between them," league's vice chairman Ismet Tahir told
reporters on Tuesday.
The prestigious battle at Senayan will cap the eight matches
in Western and Eastern Groups staged on the first day of the
season.
The other Western Group matches will be played in Medan, North
Sumatra and Surakarta, Central Java. Host Medan Jaya takes on
former amateur side Persiraja of Banda Aceh, and former Galatama
champion Arseto entertains fellow semi-pro side Semen Padang.
In the Eastern Group, PSIM Yogyakarta will have the advantage
of playing on home soil against Asyabaab of Surabaya. The 1975
amateur champion Persipura travels to Pretrokimia Putra of
Gresik, East Java. Malang, East Java's Arema hosts PSIR of
Rembang, while Pupuk Kaltim plays fellow East Kalimantan club
Persiba Balikpapan at home in Bontang.
Unification
The shape of the new national semi-professional league, in
preparation the past year, including a comparison study with the
one in Malaysia, unifies 16 Galatama clubs and 18 provincial
teams in the premier division.
The first leg of the season, which will end on April 26, will
see 272 matches played in 24 towns throughout the archipelago.
There will be 40 days off between Jan. 30 and March 11 due to
the Islamic fasting month and Idul Fitri celebration.
Two bottom sides of each group will be degraded to the lower
division at the end of the season, with two top teams of the
first division promoted to the premier division.
Despite the skepticism over the prospects of melting Galatama
and provincial clubs in the new league's pot, the All-Indonesia
Football Association claims all parties have thrown their weight
behind the unification idea.
Ismet also said the league has adopted the English rule of
giving three points to a winning team, as suggested by the world
soccer body FIFA. "All participating teams have given their
approval over the scoring rules," said Ismet.
The old two-points-a-win regulation still applies in Europe,
the world's most exciting soccer stage, including Germany and
Spain. (amd)