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n Indonesia’s top-flight soccer league last season, a match between Persija Jakarta and Semen Padang FC held at the Gelora Bung Karno (GBK) Stadium in Central Jakarta attracted more than 50,000 members of Jakmania, a group of loyal fans of the capital’s team.

With nearly 90,000 registered members, attracting big crowds of Jakmania anywhere Persija plays around the capital is guaranteed. After the GBK underwent a series of renovations last year as part of preparations for the 2018 Asian Games, the stadium could no longer be used to hold Persija matches, forcing the club to look for other venues outside the city.

Following the demolition of the Menteng soccer stadium in Central Jakarta and the Lebak Bulus stadium in South Jakarta, GBK is practically the only stadium that meets the standards required to host a professional soccer match. Apart from the 88,000-capacity stadium, the capital does not have any other venue that can accommodate this kind of spectacle.

The bitter situation pushed the club’s management to pick Surakarta in Central Java as the new home base for the rest of the season, forcing tens of thousands Jakmania to dig into their pockets to travel more than 1,000 kilometers back and forth just to see their team play.

When President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo served as Jakarta governor, he promised to build a stadium of international quality in the capital, where Persija would be headquartered. Sunter BMW Park in North Jakarta was then picked for the site of the stadium’s construction. Progress on the idea, however, has moved sluggishly.

According to The Jakarta Post observations on Wednesday, the site has turned into a giant trash landfill, filled up with piles of rubbish disposed by nearby residents. The problem of land disputes clouds the commencement of construction.

“We understand that building a soccer stadium is not easy and takes time. However, we only demand certainty that the construction will start soon,” Jakmania secretary-general Diky Soemarno said.

Diky said Persija was one of the ultimate sources of entertainment for many Jakartans, particularly those in the lower and middle classes.

“Stadiums are places where people can cheer for their team and forget their daily stresses for a while,” he said.

While Persija struggles to find a home, its archrival Persib Bandung, for example, is blessed with multiple options to host its home games. The West Java side has Siliwangi, Si Jalak Harupat and the newly built Gelora Bandung Lautan Api stadium to hold their home matches.

The victors of the recently concluded Jakarta gubernatorial election Anies Baswedan and Sandiaga Uno repeatedly promised during their campaign to build a “world-class” stadium on a par with Old Trafford stadium, the home of Manchester United, in the United Kingdom. Old Trafford is able to accommodate more than 75,000 fans.

With his background as a businessman, Sandiaga Uno has said that the idea to build such a facility is not too farfetched. He even pledged that he would realize the plan regardless of whether or not he won the election.

“There are many investors who have shown an interest. Our first option is to build it at the BMW Park” he told reporters recently.

Sandiaga, however, refused to elaborate further, saying that the pair would begin realizing their programs in October, when they officially took office.