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Indonesia enters new era as Liga 1 women’s soccer league begins
Indonesia once had a women’s league called Liga Utama Wanita (Women’s Premier League), also known as Galanita, which was popular in the 1990s. The Association of Indonesian Soccer (PSSI) had never replaced Galanita with a proper league until the 2019 revival – it only organized a few sporadic competitions for short-term purposes.
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Tira Persikabo soccer club plays against PSS Sleman as Indonesia's Liga 1 Putri women's premier league kicks off at Maguwoharjo Stadium in Sleman, Yogyakarta on Saturday, Oct. 5. Tira Persikabo won 3-1. (PSSI/PSSI)
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fter having no women’s league for decades, Indonesia is now entering a new dawn with the start of 2019 Liga 1 Putri national women’s premier league on Saturday.
Indonesia once had a women’s league called Liga Utama Wanita (Women’s Premier League), also known as Galanita, which was popular in the 1990s. The Association of Indonesian Soccer (PSSI) had never replaced Galanita with a proper league until the 2019 revival – it only organized a few sporadic competitions for short-term purposes.
The last time Indonesia had a national competition was the Pertiwi Cup in 2017, in the buildup to forming a national team for the 2018 Asian Games at home.
PSSI secretary-general Ratu Tisha expressed her appreciation for the 10 clubs that participated in the debut season.
The clubs are Arema FC of Malang, Bali United, PSM of Makassar, Persipura of Jayapura, Persebaya of Surabaya, Persib of Bandung, PSIS of Semarang, PSS Sleman, Persija Jakarta and PS Tira Persikabo of Bogor.
“To the clubs, please accept our gratitude and highest appreciation. Let us all rebuild Indonesian women’s soccer by hosting a healthy and sustainable league,” Ratu told the press at Saturday’s kickoff as quoted by the association’s website, pssi.org.
The league is organized in groups, with the top two teams in each group advancing to the semifinals.
In Group A are PSS, Tira Persikabo, Persija, PSIS and Persib. Each of the teams will play four group stage matches at Maguwoharjo Stadium in Sleman, Yogyakarta from Oct. 5 to 12.
In Group B are PSM, Persipura, Arema, Persebaya and Bali United. They will play their group stage matches at Brantas Stadium in Batu, Malang, East Java from Oct. 6 to 12.
In Saturday’s openers, Tira Persikabo won 3-1 against host PSS. The goalscorers were Insyafadya Salsabila, Baiq Amiatun and Helsya Maeisyaroh. PSS' sole goal came from Dhia Putri.
In another match, Persija made a strong appearance by beating PSIS 4-1. Player of the match Mayang ZP showed solid footwork by scoring a hat trick, with goals in the 19th, 42nd and 65th minutes, while Zahra Musdalifah scored in the 25th. PSIS managed to break Persija’s net in the 30th minute through Rosdilah Siti.
