Deputy Chairperson of the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) Zainudin Amali at a discussion on ‘Indonesia League 2023/2024: Benefits and Disadvantages of the Competition New Format’ in Jakarta on Wednesday (May 31, 2023). (ANTARA/Zaro Ezza Syachniar)
Jakarta (ANTARA) – The new format for the 2023–2024 football matches is a part of the national football transformation, Deputy Chairperson of the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) Zainudin Amali has said.
He made the remarks during a discussion held by a football community, which was themed “Indonesia League 2023/2024: Benefits and Disadvantages of the Competition New Format,” here on Wednesday.
"I would like to convey warm greetings from PSSI chairperson Erick Thohir. He would have attended, but his schedule is tight. Therefore, he apologized for not being able to attend and assigned me to represent him," Amali said.
According to him, competition is an important part of transforming Indonesian football, in addition to governance.
This season's League 1 competition will be divided into two stages, namely, the regular series and the championship series, which will be held between July 1, 2023, and May 26, 2024.
The regular series will take place from July 1, 2023, to April 28, 2024, with 18 clubs competing in a double round-robin or home-and-away format.
After that, the top four teams will proceed to the championship series, which will be held in a home-and-away format from May 4–26, 2024.
The top three will compete in Asian club competitions next season.
In the League 1 format, each club will have a maximum of 35 players, with 6 of them being foreign players: 5 from other countries and 1 from ASEAN.
Each club will be required to deploy U-23 players at starting line 11 in every match with a 45-minute minimum of playing time.
"The commitment of FIFA ( Fédération internationale de football association), the AFC (Asian Football Confederation ), and the government is extraordinary for football; so I think we have to manage the competition as well as possible. Maybe we cannot satisfy all parties yet, but at least we have started step by step," Amali said.
Related news: PSSI to explore cooperation with Germany
Related news: PSSI expected to coach young grassroots players: minister
Translator: Zaro S, KenzuEditor: Azis Kurmala Copyright © ANTARA 2023
