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View all search resultsIndonesia risks 2026 Asian Games soccer exclusion
NOC Indonesia prepares protest over 16-team grading system that may sideline Indonesia from soccer at the quadrennial Games.
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Raja Sapta Oktohari (left), chairman of the National Olympic Committee (NOC) Indonesia, speaks to reporters in Jakarta on Feb. 20, 2026, as Youth and Sports Minister Erick Thohir looks on. (Antara/Aloysius Lewokeda)
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ndonesia’s national soccer team is likely to miss out on the 2026 Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, under a new policy introduced by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) and the Asian Football Confederation, prompting the National Olympic Committee (NOC) Indonesia to prepare a formal protest.
The new system applies grading without a qualification process and limits participation in the men’s soccer tournament to just 16 teams, a sharp reduction from the roughly 45 OCA member nations. In previous editions of the Asian Games, all participating countries were entitled to enter the soccer event.
Raja “Okto” Sapta Oktohari, chairman of NOC Indonesia, described the policy as unusual and questioned its fairness. He said the committee had formally conveyed its position to Youth and Sports Minister Erick Thohir regarding the potential exclusion.
“If soccer is decided through a grading system without a qualification process, that’s not the norm,” Okto told reporters at the Youth and Sports Ministry in Senayan, Central Jakarta, on Feb. 20, as quoted by Antara. “At the Asian Games, all countries usually get to participate. A policy like this should be communicated fairly.”
Okto stressed that soccer commands the largest fan base among Asian Games sports and warned that excluding numerous nations, including Indonesia, could diminish the tournament’s overall appeal.
NOC Indonesia and the ministry are continuing discussions with the OCA, including submitting objections directly to the OCA president. Okto said Indonesia would also lodge a protest with host nation Japan.
“The host must not act arbitrarily,” he said. “There are many considerations that must be examined, and we will continue to voice this, not only through the PSSI [Soccer Association of Indonesia] but also together with other Asian football federations.”
