Chairperson of the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI), Erick Thohir (center), at a press conference on the implementation of the 2023–2024 edition of Liga 1 in Jakarta on Thursday (June 15, 2023). (ANTARA/Zaro Ezza Syachniar/uyu)
Jakarta (ANTARA) – Chairperson of the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) Erick Thohir has said that PSSI will apply six breakthroughs during the 2023–2024 edition of Liga 1, Indonesia’s top-flight league, which will start on July 1, 2023.
Outlining the breakthroughs at a press conference on the implementation of Liga 1 here on Thursday, he informed that first, PSSI will improve the business aspect and commercialization of Indonesian football.
Referring to his visits to Japan and Germany a few weeks ago, he said that the aspects are important to develop a good quality league and a strong national team.
"It (Japan) has excellent training facilities, hence the Japanese soccer team has a solid and good program because it has a strong financial foundation," the PSSI chairperson explained.
Furthermore, the stadiums of all clubs will be equipped with electric boards – the first time such a facility will be used by all teams in Indonesia, he informed.
"Another breakthrough is the implementation of VAR according to international standards. God willing, it can be implemented in February (2024)," he added.
Furthermore, Thohir said, the government will rehabilitate 22 stadiums, according to the blueprint presented to Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA).
The fifth breakthrough will be improving the quality of Indonesian referees through collaboration with the Japan Football Association (JFA), he added.
He said that the Indonesian referees are being trained by two Japanese referees from June 15 to 20, 2023.
The sixth breakthrough is regarding the regulation on the number of foreign players in each club, the PSSI chairperson informed.
He said that each club can register a maximum of five foreign players from any country, plus one foreign player from any Southeast Asian country.
He added that the regulation aims to make the Indonesian league the best in the Southeast Asian region.
The 2023–2024 edition of Liga 1 will be implemented in a two-round format.
The first one will be the regular series competed by 18 clubs in a home-and-away format, which will take place from July 1, 2023, to April 28, 2024.
The top four teams in the regular series will advance to the championship series, which will be held from May 4–26, 2024, in a home-and-away format.
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Translator: Zaro Syachniar, Uyu LimanEditor: Rahmad Nasution Copyright © ANTARA 2023
