Nova Arianto Talks About Scrapping the U23 Player Regulation in the Super League

KOMPAS.com - Indonesia’s U19 national team coach Nova Arianto has responded to the decision to abolish the U23 player rule in the 2026-2027 Super League season. Asep Saputra, Director of Competition for I.League, revealed that the U23 policy is almost certain to be scrapped. This means next season’s Super League clubs will again be required to field U23 players as starters for 45 minutes in matches. The regulation was introduced in 2023 with the aim of giving playing time to U23 players who were initially tasked with defending the SEA Games gold medal in December 2025.

“Sudah disampaikan kan, saya pikir hal yang sudah kita share bersama PSSI bulan lalu, regulasi untuk musim yang akan datang tidak ada perubahan,” in Bekasi, as quoted by BolaSport. “Hanya ada perubahan di regulasi U23 yang tidak ada lagi kewajiban dalam starting line up di 45 menit,” he added.

Furthermore, Asep explained that the official details of the regulation will be seen once the official document (RUU) is issued. Meanwhile, Nova Arianto hopes young players remain motivated and able to show their best to continue developing and earn opportunities to move to the first team. “Kalau kita bicara Liga 1 pastinya itu menjadi sebuah industri ya,” Nova said on Tuesday (19 May 2026) at Yogyakarta Independent School. “Industri ke depannya bagaimana industri kan kita bicara secara profesional ya.” “Kalau masalah regulasi pastinya saya berharap pemain-pemain muda kita bisa bersaing dengan baik. Sekali lagi semuanya kesempatannya pasti ada ya.” Nova also proposed a dedicated competition for young players so they can keep sharpening their skills through regular matches. His confidence is underpinned by the fact that several of his former U17 national team players have already broken into first teams: Nazriel Alfaro debuted with Persib Bandung late last year and Evandra Florasta has featured for Bhayangkara FC this season.