The government finally granted authority on Saturday for not one but two separate soccer leagues, despite FIFA’s order to Indonesia to stage only one or face sanctions.

Acting Youth and Sports Minister and Coordinating People’s Welfare Minister Agung Laksono issued a recommendation for the Indonesia Premier League (IPL), which will start on Feb. 13 under the auspices of the Indonesian Soccer Association (PSSI), after it had similarly allowed the Indonesia Super League (ISL), which is run by the PSSI’s rival Indonesian Soccer Committee (KPSI), to kick off on Saturday.

The government’s recommendation for the ISL was issued after a meeting between the minister and ISL organizer PT Liga Indonesia and Indonesian Professional Sports Body (BOPI) executives at the Youth and Sports Ministry late on Friday.

The recommendation for the IPL was made on the following day after Agung held a meeting with government-sanctioned task force members and BOPI executives.

The Golkar Party senior politician’s decision was seen as problematic as he had previously refused to issue a recommendation for the ISL due to concerns about the dual leagues, one of the reasons being FIFA’s threat of an indefinite suspension of the country from international tournaments if conflicts between the two disputing soccer organizations persist.

“Leagues are a necessary step to develop players and coaches […] The government, therefore, is issuing a recommendation for both leagues [the ISL and the IPL],” he said as quoted by Antara news agency.

He said, however, that the rival camps had to eventually eliminate the duality and establish one strong national team, with the best players and coaches from both leagues.

He added that all clubs had to pay their players any wages that were outstanding from the previous season.

Following the recommendations, the National Police issued a mass-gathering permit to allow the ISL to begin with two opening matches in Palembang, South Sumatra, and in Bandung, West Java, as scheduled.

National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Suhardi Alius confirmed the issuance of the permit but said the police would immediately revoke the permit if the rivalry persisted and both camps failed to fulfill their commitments as required by the government.

“The National Police issued the permit based on a security perspective. We will carry out an evaluation every seven days,” he said as quoted by Antara.

Soccer observer and sports columnist Anton Sanjoyo he said it was “OK” for the government to issue a recommendation for both the ISL and the IPL — for now.

“But the government has to withdraw its endorsements and both leagues have to stop if the deadline set by FIFA for conflict resolution draws on with the dispute remaining unsettled,” he told The Jakarta Post.

The government has established a task force aimed at helping settle the prolonged dispute between the PSSI and KPSI by March 30 in order to avoid FIFA’s imminent sanctions.

The task force is headed by Rita Subowo, the chairwoman of the Indonesian Olympic Committee (KOI) and former National Sports Council (KONI) chairwoman, with members comprising KONI chairman Tono Suratman, former PSSI chairman Agum Gumelar and government representatives Djoko Pekik Irianto and Yuli Mumpuni.

In their opening ISL match, West Java’s Pelita Bandung Raya and Barito Putra from South Kalimantan played out a 1-1 draw at Si Jalak Harupat Stadium in Soreang, Bandung regency, West Java, on Saturday.

In the other match, Sriwijaya FC from South Sumatra and Persiba Balikpapan also had a 1-1 draw after playing at Jakabaring Stadium in Palembang, South Sumatra.

Ansyor Idrus contributed to the story from Palembang, South Sumatra

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