Indonesian Women's Football Hopes Shine in Singapore

Alya Putri Ariyanto (12) could not hold back her sadness at The Arena Singapore, Singapore, on Sunday (20/4/2025). After the referee blew the final whistle, Alya cried. Together with her teammates from MilkLife Shakers, Alya mourned the defeat in the final round of the girls' football tournament for the Asia age group, JSSL Singapore 7’s 2025.

Alya has the right to be sad. In her debut at the international tournament, she wanted to return home with the championship title. That would be her best souvenir when she returns to Indonesia, upon arriving in Kudus, Central Java, to meet her parents.

However, Alya's team lost 0-1 to Singapore's National Development Center A in the final round and had to be satisfied with going home as runners-up. The defeat was painful, especially because Alya as the goalkeeper was the last wall of the team's defense. The goal was also the only one that nested in Alya's goal throughout the tournament.

However, Alya has actually come a long way from her starting point. In 2023, Alya was one of hundreds of elementary school girls who tried football for the first time. It had never crossed Alya's mind before to play football.

At the Supersoccer Arena Stadium in Kudus, Central Java, Alya competes, representing her school team, and begins to dream of becoming a female footballer. Who would have thought that two years from that moment, Alya would be able to play in an international tournament and represent Indonesia.

"Initially, I played volleyball. Now I have become addicted to playing soccer. I want to play as a national team player," said Alya earlier this year after being named the best goalkeeper of the MLSC All Stars tournament.

Alya, along with 11 players from MilkLife Shakers, are athletes who have previously competed in the inter-elementary school and madrasah ibtidaiyah women's football tournament, the MilkLife Soccer Challenge. They come from various regions where the tournament has been held since 2023.

Each region holds two series of tournaments. The best players are selected to strengthen the All-Star teams from each region that compete against one another. The top players are then chosen again to reinforce the team that will compete in Singapore.

In addition to MilkLife Shakers, which is a 12-year-old age group team, there is also Hydroplus Strikers, which is strengthened by players from the 14-year-old age group. Hydroplus Strikers, who also came out as runners-up, went through the same process until they were finally able to compete in Singapore.

"Because this is the first experience competing against athletes from various countries, there must be shortcomings that should be avoided in order to play more all out. However, we are still proud because their mentality as athletes has begun to form," said the head coach of both teams, Timo Scheunemann.

The mentality referred to by Timo is exemplified by Locita Waranggani Olah Nismara (12). Although she is sad about not being able to win, Locita expressed her happiness for having the opportunity to participate in an international tournament and meet opponents from various countries.

"We are not afraid of opponents who are bigger, our skills can be compared," said the student of SDN Pacarkeling V Surabaya.

On the other hand, MilkLife Shakers and Hydroplus Strikers also displayed impressive performances throughout the tournament. Hydroplus Strikers, for instance, managed to achieve six victories and three draws in nine qualifying matches.

They continued their positive trend in the semifinals before ultimately suffering their first defeat in the final match. Meanwhile, MilkLife Shakers swept all seven preliminary round matches. The loss in the final match became their only negative result in the tournament.

Timo hopes that the athletes will gain experience and lessons from the tournament. The former coach of the women's national football team is also optimistic that the achievements of the graduates of the MilkLife Soccer Challenge will shine even brighter in the future.

The tournament in Singapore and the success of the players in achieving accomplishments there is the initial achievement of a long series of processes. Timo, who is also the head coach of the MilkLife Soccer Challenge tournament, has always stated from the beginning that the talents of Indonesian women's football will emerge if given a platform.

Tournaments like the MilkLife Soccer Challenge serve as a platform for them. Through the tournament, young girls like Alya and Locita get to experience soccer, compete, and ultimately showcase their potential. This also becomes part of the development process from a young age.

However, most importantly, the effort to develop women's football through training from the children's level is accompanied by a commitment to carry it out sustainably and progressively. Timo believes that serious efforts will not betray the results. Achievements in Singapore should serve as evidence of Timo's optimism.

The Director of the MilkLife Soccer Challenge Program, Teddy Tjahjono, also assessed that the achievements of both teams are commendable. According to Teddy, the main objective of sending the Hydropus Strikers and MilkLife Shakers to the international tournament is actually to gauge the abilities of young female footballers.

"After this, we will certainly conduct an evaluation so that we can achieve accomplishments and compete in more prestigious events," said Teddy.

In Singapore, tears were indeed shed, but hope shone even brighter. From the small feet that ran fearlessly, a great hope for the future of women's football in Indonesia was born. Their journey is still long, but this initial step is already very promising.

If the commitment to development is continuously nurtured and supported by many parties, it is not impossible that the tears in today's final will turn into smiles of victory on the world stage tomorrow.