Super League's Young Player Regulation Not Entirely Scrapped
Competition Director of the I.League, Asep Saputra, has confirmed that the regulation concerning young players in next season’s top-flight Super League has not been completely abolished. He stated that while the rule requiring one U-23 player to start and play a minimum of 45 minutes or one half will no longer be enforced next season, the requirement for each club to register at least five young players remains in place.
"In the previous two years, we had a regulation mandating U-23 players to play 45 minutes. But we have converted it; it has not actually been entirely removed," Asep said during a League Talk event attended by ANTARA at the I.League office in Jakarta on Friday.
This approach was taken by the I.League to ensure that young Indonesian talents still receive playing opportunities, even though they must compete fiercely with senior and foreign players. Asep added that next season, clubs that field young players beyond a certain minimum duration will receive financial rewards.
He also explained that the coaching structure within each club’s technical department must include a local coach to maintain the quality of domestic coaches amid an influx of foreign trainers. "For example, as a simulation, imagine a foreign coaching setup with a foreign head coach and two foreign assistants, but no local coaches. Even if there is a local coach in a very specific role like goalkeeper coach or fitness coach, that does not meet the requirement. There must be a local coach in the technical staff, meeting the minimum standard of an AFC A Diploma," he elaborated.
Asep confirmed that the foreign player regulations remain unchanged, with clubs still permitted to register a maximum of 11 foreign players—though not obligated to fill all slots—of which nine can be named in the squad list and seven can play in a single match. The competition format also remains the same, with the Super League contested by 18 clubs in a double round-robin system, featuring 306 matches running from 4 September 2026 to 5 June 2027.