Regional Elections but no League

DOKUMENTASI PSSI

Youth and Sports Minister Zainudin Amali (right) and Soccer Association of Indonesia (PSSI) chairman Mochamad Iriawan attend the opening ceremony of Indonesia Liga 2 in Balikpapan on March 14.

The cancellation of the Shopee Liga 1 and Liga 2 football competitions has led to inactivity in the clubs and an increasingly uncertain fate for the players.

The cancellation of the league was confirmed after the National Police declined to issue crowd permits. National Police Public Relations Division head Insp. Gen. Raden Prabowo Argo Yuwono said the permits were not issued because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the continuing growth of cases.

Moreover, the chief of the National Police announced that they would not issue crowd permits at any level. "The National Police together with the Indonesian Military and related stakeholders are concentrating on supporting government policy by carrying out an operation called Operation Justisi," said Argo (Kompas, 30/9/2020).

Also read: Players and Clubs Fall Victims

The withheld crowd permit is a reversal the "green light" the football league had received to resume after being suspended for seven months because of the pandemic. The government had sent positive signals through Youth and Sports Minister Zainudin Amali and COVID-19 task force chair Doni Monardo, who approved the resumption of soccer and basketball competitions.

Competitions are the lifeblood of sports. Without competitions, clubs cannot carry out their essential activities: training and competing. If the clubs cannot carry out activities, the players and coaches will be affected. Around them are assistant coaches, physical trainers, goalkeeping coaches, masseurs and many other support members.

Also read: Sports an Energy Source for Recovery

KOMPAS/RONY ARIYANTO NUGROHO

Bhayangkara FC I defender I Putu Gede Juni Antara (right) and Persija Jakarta striker Marko Simic (left) leap for the ball during Indonesia’s top-tier league, Shopee Liga 1, at the Police Higher Education College Stadium in South Jakarta on March 14. The players have to wait for a long time before they can resume matches in Liga 1, which has been suspended for the past seven months.

Competitions also drive capital turnover. A soccer match is a source of income for the home team, the away team and the accompanying facilities that provide accommodations, meals and travel services. Under normal circumstances, spectators are also a source of income for clubs, but now, matches have to be held without spectators.

For soccer players, as well as athletes in other sports, the absence of competitions or championships of any kind, regardless of scale, is tantamount to eroding, even killing income. The majority of players are contracted at the start of the season and the payroll is regulated according to club and player agreements. If there are no competitions and funds do not circulate, from what can players expect obtain their salaries?

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Without championships, how do they prove their talent?

The majority of athletes have dedicated their lives to sports. For the sake of the sports they love, some have given up their education. Many do not continue school for the sake of sporting achievement.

It is not surprising that athletes\' livelihoods come from competitions. Without championships, how do they prove their talent? Indonesia often rewards achievements with bonuses. For one individual gold medal at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games, for example, the government disbursed a bonus of Rp 1 billion.

People in the sporting world consider the cancellation of the league a display of the government\'s inconsistency in dealing with the pandemic. They cite the fact that the simultaneous regional elections will still occur in December 2020.