We Ask Again, When is the Women's League?

After the match against Taiwan, the Indonesian women's national football team players walked towards the east stand of the Indomilk Arena Stadium in Tangerang Regency, Banten. There, they received support from the fans. Additionally, they unfurled a banner that read, "Mr. Erick, when will the Women's League 1 be held?"

Sunday (5/7/2025) became a gloomy night for the women's national football team. Shafira Ika and her teammates lost 1-2 to Taiwan in the final match of Group D of the 2026 Asian Cup qualifiers.

The defeat ensured that "Garuda Pertiwi" failed to qualify for the Asian Cup after finishing in third place in the standings with three points from three matches. The ticket to the tournament was secured by Taiwan as the group champion with nine points.

The banner, which was briefly displayed by the players before being seized by officials without clear reason, added to the somber and sad atmosphere. From the questions on the banner, the demands, despair, and hopes regarding women's football in the country were vividly depicted.

The question on the banner was not actually the first question asked. Nor was it a difficult question.

After all, General Chair Erick Thohir, the person targeted in the question, has answered it on several occasions. His answer was that the women's soccer league would be held in 2027. "Eh, be patient, I said. This is before the Women's League runs, we have to create grassroots," said Erick, last June 28.

However, that answer is never enough. Moreover, the league events are always postponed. Erick, in May 2024, confirmed that the women's football league will commence in 2026. In the two years leading up to 2026, PSSI has chosen to focus on building the national team first.

At that time, several female footballers assessed that 2026 is too long for the women's league, which has been dormant since its first edition in 2019. Moreover, not all female footballers are accommodated in the national team, which is the main focus of PSSI.

However, after that, the prominence of the women's league is often overshadowed when the national women's team wins several friendly matches and tournaments. Indonesia rose 12 places to rank 95 in the past year.

The defeat against Taiwan serves as a momentum to once again emphasize the urgency of launching a competition in the near future. Moreover, with this loss, Indonesia has failed to replicate its achievement from the 2022 edition when it successfully qualified.

The performance of Garuda Pertiwi against Taiwan was actually better than in the matches against Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan. The defense was more disciplined, and the attacks were also more aggressive.

However, a classic problem still looms over the women's national team, namely the lack of mastery of basic football techniques, such as passing, controlling, dribbling, and positioning. Since taking charge of the women's national team in 2024, coach Satoru Mochizuki has already highlighted this deficiency.

The issue is not only prevalent in the women's national team. Former men's national team coach, Shin Tae-yong, has previously expressed similar concerns. However, for the female players, this problem is exacerbated by the absence of competition over the past six years.

Practical players cannot hone their skills through regular matches. They can only rely on tournaments that are also inconsistently held, while the rest struggle on their own by seeking experience abroad.

"It is important to have an environment that allows players to play women's soccer from a young age to the top level," said Mochizuki, Wednesday (2/7/2025).

The coaching staff of Japan, the champions of the 2011 Women's World Cup, amplified their statements made in February regarding the potential of young players. "To develop the potential of players, there must be an environment that allows them to play anywhere, anytime, and with anyone. Competition provides them with goals, and goals motivate them to train," they stated.

Taiwan coach Chan Hiu Ming observes that Indonesia is ambitious in advancing football, including the women's sector. However, Chan emphasizes the importance of a process.

"We certainly deserve to qualify because we have also put in a lot of effort and our players have sacrificed a great deal. Not just for 1 month, 2 months, but for 2 years to prepare for this qualification," said the coach who previously highlighted Indonesia's efforts to attract diaspora players.

Taiwan presented itself confidently with proficient fundamental techniques. Their abilities have been developed not only through preparation with the national team but also through competition with their respective clubs. All players from Taiwan are actively competing in both domestic and international leagues.

If Taiwan, a three-time champion of the Asian Cup, cannot serve as a fair comparison for Indonesia, let us compare it with other Southeast Asian countries. Not to mention discussing competition in Asia, in fact, even within Southeast Asia, the gap in disparity is palpable.

Recently, the Indonesian U-19 women's team lost 1-6 to Thailand, which ultimately emerged as the champion, and drew 1-1 against Cambodia in the 2025 ASEAN Championship. Indonesia only secured third place. In the younger age group, Indonesia was defeated 1-6 by the Philippines in the 2024 U-17 Women's Asian Cup.

In the qualification for the 2026 Asian Cup, Thailand also failed to qualify. For the first time since 1997, they did not make it to the Asian Cup. A country that has the Thai Women’s League with only two tiers could not qualify, making it difficult to expect better results from Indonesia, which has not had any competition in the last six years.

Thailand's failure, determined through a do-or-die match against India, also highlights the intensifying competition in Asia and Southeast Asia. The Philippines and Vietnam are beginning to emerge as the new "queens" of the region. They have become representatives of ASEAN in the 2026 Asian Cup after winning their respective groups.

Vietnam and the Philippines, which qualified for the 2023 Women's World Cup, can serve as examples of successful coaching and development of women's football through competition. The Philippines has had The PFF Women’s League since 2016, while Vietnam launched the VFF Women’s League or Thai Son Bac Cup since 1998.

In Southeast Asia, only Indonesia and Brunei Darussalam currently do not have a women's football league. Cambodia and Laos, which a few years ago were not considered a threat, have consistently launched their leagues. Similarly, Timor Leste is set to launch its league in August 2025.

Singapore even has two levels of competition, the Deloitte Women's Premier League and the Women’s Nation League. The champion of the Women’s Premier League, Lion City Sailors, and the champion of the Lao Women’s League 2023, Young Elephants, have also participated in the qualifying stage of the 2024-2025 AFC Women's Champions League.

Erick Thohir is aware of the threat posed by the resurgence of other Southeast Asian countries. However, he emphasizes the efforts of Southeast Asian nations to strengthen their national teams by attracting the diaspora, rather than focusing on development efforts.

After Indonesia's failure to qualify for the 2026 Asian Cup and being questioned again about the league event, Erick admitted that he is not afraid of pressure. He urged all parties to remain patient while waiting for the competition.

Previously, Erick said, the league could not be held in 2026 because according to studies, the talent pool was not enough. When Kompas asked how many players were needed to hold the league, Erick answered, it would take 30 players for each of the 8 clubs. That means a total of 240 players.

"Our women's national team has only 30 players. The average age is 22 years. So, the pool is actually limited. In addition to the U-20 and U-19 players, there may be around 10-15, which means a total of 45 players," said Erick on June 28.

"Therefore, it is not sufficient. If we force the talents from below, the quality of the Women's League will not be good, and there will be no audience. People will not want to buy tickets or place advertisements, and what will happen? Eventually, the women's clubs or the league will disband halfway through," said Erick.

If hindered by a lack of participants, the Secretary General of the Indonesian Women's Football Association, Souraiya Farina, once proposed opening opportunities for homogeneous clubs, consisting solely of women's teams, to become participants. These clubs have clear structures, deeds, and legal entities and can be encouraged to become professional clubs.

Moreover, Indonesia does not actually lack female players or clubs. In the 2024 Pertiwi Cup, for instance, there are 16 teams from 16 provincial associations of PSSI participating.

Most of the representatives of each provincial association are clubs that have already existed in the region. These clubs are mostly homogeneous. Assuming each team participating in the Piala Pertiwi consists of 20 players, there are already 320 players ready to compete in the league.

The goal scorer against Taiwan, Helsya Maeisyaroh, expressed her pride in the team for their willingness to fight hard despite many doubts. At the very least, they were able to match Taiwan's gameplay. Following this, they do not intend to give up.

However, Helsya and female footballers in Indonesia need support, including being provided with a platform to compete and develop through a league. If not, they will have to struggle alone once again. Indonesia also risks falling further behind even in the Southeast Asian competition.

In the end, we asked again, “When is the women's league?”