‘High hopes’ as women’s soccer returns to Indonesia

Seven years after COVID-19 put the brakes on Indonesia’s new women’s soccer league, Zahra Naqiyyah would finally return to the field with “high hopes” for the women’s game in the country.

Sunday’s matches in the Indonesia Women’s League (IWL) would be the first since 2019 and a new chapter for women’s soccer in the Muslim-majority country of 290 million people.

“I really believe that if Indonesia’s women’s football is properly managed we can become a powerhouse in Asia,” Zahra said at a training session in Bekasi, east of Jakarta.

Persita Tangerang’s Azra Zifa Kayla puts on her shoes before soccer practice in Tangerang, Indonesia, on Sept. 26.

Photo: AFP

“I have high hopes for women’s football in Indonesia,” she added, wearing a black hijab and the turquoise jersey of her club, Garudayaksa Women.

Indonesia has long been an outlier among soccer nations, including much smaller Asian ones, in not having a permanent league for women. That was until 2019, when the IWL was launched and Zahra, only 15 at the time, helped her team to victory and celebrated with a hero’s parade in her home city of Bandung — fulfilling a dream.

However, the league managed only one season because of the pandemic and subsequent financial problems, and has been on hold ever since.

Persita Tangerang players perform drills during soccer practice in Tangerang, Indonesia, on Sept. 26.

Photo: AFP

Now, the Football Association of Indonesia has allocated 24 billion rupiah (US$1.34 million) to restart the league and pay salaries, albeit small ones, to players.

There would be six clubs to start in the five-year trial period, said association chairman Erick Thohir, former owner of Inter.

At 22, Zahra is still young enough to make a career of it. Others were not so lucky.

“Many of my friends ended up quitting because what else could they do? There is no league, and if they want to become coaches, who are they supposed to coach?” Zahra said.

While she learned to be a coach, others tried their luck with clubs abroad.

Nastasia Suci Ramadhani played last year in the Maldives.

The 20-year-old returned to Indonesia in January to play alongside Zahra.

Unsure about the league’s staying power, Nastasia is studying management and has also considered becoming a police officer or soldier.

“For men there’s a league every year, but for women there isn’t,” she said.

Garudayaksa coach Yopie Riwoe said the going will be tough if Indonesia wants to compete with top Asian nations.

Japan won the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2011 and are the current Asian champions, while China and South Korea also boast women’s leagues and are competitive at international level.

“All this time they haven’t done continuous training like daily sessions with high intensity, so it’s been a bit difficult,” Yopie said of Indonesia’s women. “We’re trying to go slowly.”

Indonesia’s women have never been to the World Cup and failed to qualify for the Asian Cup last year, although they did reach the continental showpiece in 2022, losing all three games.

However, they won the regional ASEAN Football Federation Women’s Cup in 2024 and again this year.

They are currently ranked No. 105 in the world.

Hoping to join the national side one day, Azra Zifa Kayla is playing in the IWL for Persita Women, based west of Jakarta.

The 22-year-old would juggle afternoon practice with mornings teaching physical education to elementary-school students, afraid to stake everything, including a regular salary, on her passion for soccer.

“I am an athlete first,” she said on a soccer pitch in Tangerang, near the capital. “But to be an athlete — especially as a woman in Indonesia — can be limiting.”

“I should also focus on education because that’s the guarantee of my future,” said Azra, who studied health and sport science.

The IWL returns with about 200 players from clubs all from Greater Jakarta.

IWL boss Teddy Tjahjono said the long-term goal was to create a sustainable women’s soccer industry.

“If the industry is strong, then financially it will be good for the clubs, for the players and for the entire support system around women’s football, which will also continue to improve,” he said.