“We will hold competition in the next one or two months. We will discuss [ preparations] first,” PSSI chairman M. Iriawan said in Bogor, West Java, on Tuesday, as quoted by Antara.

He added that the association expected the league to help improve women’s soccer in international competitions.

“We want to promote women’s soccer [in Indonesia]; therefore, we hold this competition every year,” Iriawan said.

The first season of Liga 1 Putri was held last year, with 10 teams participating in the competition: 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.

Persib came out the winner of last year’s season. 

The last time Indonesia had a women’s league was in the 1990s, when the soccer association had Liga Utama Wanita (Women’s Premier League), also known as Galanita. There was no official replacement for Galanita until the 2019 revival, as PSSI only organized a few sporadic competitions for short-term purposes.

Apart from the league, PSSI is also looking to hold the national Pertiwi Cup in 2020, targeting 20 teams to participate at the provincial and national level.

The national women’s soccer team will participate in the 2020 ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Women’s Championship and several friendly matches with other countries. (gis)

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