What's New in the 2025-2026 BRI Super League?

The highest tier competition in Indonesia has a new title. It is called the BRI Super League. This new naming has resulted in several changes, ranging from the logo to the champion's trophy.

The ambition of I.League, the operator of the competition formerly known as PT Liga Indonesia Baru (LIB), is for the presence of this new brand of competition to mark a new beginning in elevating the status of the league in the Asian region.

In addition, the Super League also demonstrates the return of foreign sponsor confidence. This is evidenced by the presence of Adidas as the provider of competition equipment, such as official match balls and player uniforms.

"Our commitment is to create a league that is more professional, transparent, and competitive," said I.League President Director Ferry Paulus in Jakarta, Sunday (3/8/2025).

Three matches will kick off the first day of the 2025-2026 Super League on Friday, (3/8/2025). Three promoted teams, namely PSIM Yogyakarta, Bhayangkara Presisi Lampung, and Persijap Jepara, will be playing away games.

Bhayangkara will play at the home ground of Borneo FC, Segiri Stadium, Samarinda, East Kalimantan, on Friday at 15:30 WIB. The two clubs that were promoted from Liga 2 last season will compete on Friday at 19:00 WIB.

PSIM visited the home ground of Persebaya Surabaya, Gelora Bung Tomo Stadium, in Surabaya, East Java, while Persijap began the competition at Gelora BJ Habibie Stadium, Parepare, South Sulawesi, the home of PSM Makassar.

Here are three new and interesting aspects that distinguish the Super League from the era of League 1, which began in 2017 and will continue until 2024-2025:

At a glance, the competition logo appears unchanged. The silhouette of the garuda bird, created with blue lines, has been retained since it was used in BRI Liga 1 2021-2022.

The difference is that the competition headline is positioned beneath the Garuda logo. The words "Super League" are located under the Garuda and remain in blue. Meanwhile, the BRI logo, the main sponsor, continues to be embraced by the Garuda.

This rebranding is part of the I.League's transformation towards the standards of Asia's top leagues.

Its silhouette has only undergone minor changes. This is evident from the eagle's head, which has increased to three. In the Liga 1 edition, the eagle's head was only two.

The brand "Super League" feels similar to when Indonesia had the name Indonesia Super League from 2008 to 2014. At that time, the Indonesian Super League was the top competition since the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) issued competition rankings. In its early existence, the Indonesian Super League once held the eighth position in Asia.

Currently, the Indonesian League ranks 25th out of 47 professional competitions monitored by the AFC. In Southeast Asia, Indonesia is ranked lower than Cambodia (23rd), Singapore (15th), Vietnam (14th), Malaysia (11th), and Thailand (7th).

The difference in the branding of the new competition starting from 2025-2026 is that it will not include the word "Indonesia" as in previous editions. The I.League as the operator seems to differentiate by referring to the competition in English, Super League, rather than Liga Super.

“This rebranding is part of the I.League’s transformation towards the standards of a top Asian league,” read the I.League statement regarding the new name of the national top-flight competition.

On the other hand, Ferry also assured that he would present the Super League champion team with a new champion trophy. This means that Persib is the recipient of the last championship trophy edition of Liga 1. The trophy has only been held by two teams, namely PSM Makassar (champion 2022-2023) and Persib, which has been the champion for the last two seasons.

The giant sports company from Germany, Adidas, is once again enlivening the competition in Indonesia. Adidas has replaced the local sports brand, Specs, as the producer of match and training balls as well as referee uniforms.

The 2025-2026 Super League will use the Adidas Tiro Competition series ball. A total of 18 contestants in the Super League have used this ball during the preparation period and several exhibition matches. Not only in the Super League, but this Adidas ball will also be present in the Championship, the new name for League 2.

Although classified as a FIFA standard ball, the Tiro Competition series is not the ball that Adidas uses to support competitions in the ASEAN region, such as the ASEAN Club Championship and the ASEAN Championship 2024. In these two competitions, Adidas provides the Tiro Pro series ball, which is of a higher quality than the Tiro Competition.

The difference between the balls lies in the color of the triangular pattern. The Tiro Competition is blue, while the Tiro Pro is black. Adidas also provides referee uniforms. The main referee, two assistant referees, the fourth official, and the video assistant referee (VAR) will wear uniforms featuring the iconic three-stripe logo.

"This collaboration aligns with Adidas Indonesia's mission to support the sustainability of sports activities at all levels. We hope this partnership brings a positive impact on Indonesian football," said Cinita Dewi Mayaktri, Senior Manager of Brand Activation at Adidas Indonesia.

Adidas has a history of enlivening Indonesia's top football competition. This was evident in the first three editions of the professional league, from 1994-1995 to 1996-1997. At that time, all teams wore template jerseys with the "adidas" brand name emblazoned across the center chest.

One of the biggest highlights of the new naming of the competition is the increasing influx of foreign players. Although several local players, through the Indonesian Professional Footballers Association (APPI), have expressed objections to the new import player regulations, the I.League remains unfazed.

A total of 18 contestants in the Super League have been given the opportunity to contract up to 11 players. From this number, only nine players are allowed to be included in the lineup for each match. Furthermore, each club is only permitted to field a maximum of seven foreign players in a match.

If a club maximizes the quota of nine foreign players on the roster, then each club potentially includes only 13 local players in each match. At worst, a team may field as few as four local players in each Super League match.

This condition has the potential to be counterproductive to the ambition of I.League in assisting PSSI to produce quality national team players, both for the senior team and especially for the youth teams. The reduced playing time compared to previous seasons may lead to stagnation in the development of local players.

Regardless of the pros and cons surrounding the upcoming Super League 2025-2026, Indonesia's premier competition is expected to truly elevate its status in the ASEAN arena and then Asia. Another significant hope is that supporters can once again freely enjoy the matches of their favorite teams comfortably, both at home and away.