T

he supporters will normally drum up support for the players inside the stadium, but on Wednesday they used their tenors and drums off the pitch as fans collected public funds for their ailing Arema.

"Save Arema", a poster read, calling sympathizers to help with donations for the Malang-based soccer club.

The Aremania, as the fans are more popularly known among the Indonesian soccer community, spread into every corner of the city, holding up buckets made of plastic carrying the slogan "Rp 10,000 Aremania fund-raiser for Arema."

At the end of the day, they managed to collect Rp 1,178,200.

"This street fund-raising campaign will go on until the Arema financial crisis can be tackled" Yuli Sugiarto, a fan coordinator, said.

An account in Bank BRI has even been opened to enable the fans throughout Indonesia, and even overseas, to join the movement.

"The account book is held by a BRI official in order to avoid suspicion about misuse," Yuli said.

He said that the movement aimed at helping ease Arema's financial problems during the team's participation in the Indonesian Super League (ISL)

The on-field performance looks much better than off it.

Arema currently leads the standings with 27 points from 12 matches.

The team has recorded eight wins, three draws and one loss. The recent win was against Cope Indonesia champion Sriwijaya FC.

However, the financial crisis facing the club threatens to derail it.

The club says it needs Rp 20 billion for operations. With the main sponsor PT Bentoel Prima being able to pour in Rp 7.5 billion and ticketing income expected to reach Rp 8 billion, the management has still to find between Rp 5 and 6 billion.

The financial crisis has jolted the relationship between players, coaches and management.

Head coach Robert Alberts of the Netherlands has threatened four times to quit his post.

He once told reporters Arema management was not operating professionally.

He said the management had many times backed down from its promises to give bonuses to the players and coaches. The management was also accused of not providing facilities as agreed in contracts.

The latest of Alberts' threats to quit was launched following Arema's 3-0 rout of Sriwijaya last week.

The management tried to brush aside the issue, saying that the problems had never existed.

"All salaries and bonuses are already paid as promised. What remains is we still owe 50 percent of the down payment on their contracts," Gunadi Handoko, the director of PT Arema Indonesia, said.

He conceded club management was suffering from a shortage of funds but he said that they were always looking for solutions.

"Arema Indonesian began this competition from zero, no money. We have had a difficult time. I hope everyone can understand the situation," Gunadi said.

It's fortunate for Arema that it has a band of avid and loyal fans.