They Sow Daring Dreams

When she decided to transfer schools last October, Amanda Fitriani (12) never imagined that a new path would truly open up for her three months later. At that time, Amanda only believed that the decision was one way to get closer to the dream she had since the age of 9, which was to become a female soccer player.

In Indonesia, becoming a female soccer player is not an easy choice to make. It is a "brave" dream because to achieve it, those who have this dream must tread a difficult path.

In addition to facing stigma and being looked down upon, they do not have a platform to realize those dreams. When Amanda started dreaming after watching the national team match, there were not even regular and tiered women's football tournaments being held. The women's football league has been dormant since 2019.

Amanda felt it was relevant when watching the animated film "Nyla," which tells the story of a girl from Sumba, East Nusa Tenggara, pursuing her dream of becoming a female soccer player. The difference, Amanda said, is that her parents supported her dream. Meanwhile, Nyla faced opposition from her mother when she tried to realize her dream by participating in a tournament in Jakarta.

Parental support has been one of Amanda's strengths in pursuing her path. The most tangible support was when they allowed Amanda to transfer from SDN 079 Pajagalan to SDN 073 Pajagalan so she could participate in the MilkLife Soccer Challenge 2024 second series in Bandung. This is a girls' soccer tournament between elementary schools and madrasah ibtidaiyah for the 10-year-old and 12-year-old age groups.

In the first series, Amanda could not participate because her school did not send a team. There was also no girls' soccer extracurricular activity she could join. Amanda's decision to transfer proved to be the right one. She was able to shine by emerging as the top scorer (22 goals) and was selected to represent Bandung to compete with seven other cities in the final tournament, MilkLife Soccer Challenge All-Stars 2025.

"My friends told me not to move, it's not worth it, I'm already in 6th grade. I said, 'It's okay for the sake of my dreams. We'll meet again later,'" said Amanda, who was afraid of not having friends at her new school, but overcame that fear in the end.

On the Supersoccer Arena Stadium field, Kudus, Central Java, Sunday (1/26/2025), after her name was called by Timo Scheunemann, Amanda could not hold back her tears. Meanwhile, her teammates were happy, hugged their captain, and congratulated him.

Amanda was chosen by Timo, Head Coach of MilkLife Soccer Challenge and also a talent scout, to be part of the team that will be sent to Singapore for the tournament. The team is like a national team, the best players are selected from several regions in Indonesia to compete in the international event.

Like Amanda, Ayla Dva Khala Ahisma (12) was also selected to join the team that will compete in the Junior Soccer School and League (JSSL) youth soccer tournament in April 2025. Like Amanda, Ayla seemed to see the path widening to make her dream come true even though her steps with the Yogyakarta team were stopped dramatically in the group phase of the MilkLife Soccer Challenge All-Stars.

Another similarity, both of them dare to dream something bold. Their respective parents had asked the children to stop because they couldn't bear to have to fight physically on the field or were sad when they lost. However, because the children were adamant, their parents gave in and finally gave their full support.

Unlike Ayla and Amanda, Ika Wonda (10) is different. This player from Puncak Jaya, Central Papua, never thought that she would end up dreaming of becoming a female soccer player. That dream only grew when she participated in the women's soccer tournament for the first time at the MilkLife Soccer Challenge 2024 Surakarta series.

"I want to be like Kak (Marsela) Awi, able to play in the national team," said Ika who always smiled. Marsela Awi is a female footballer who also comes from Tanah Papua. She has defended the Indonesian national team several times.

Ika's dream grew stronger when she received additional motivation from other national team players who came to Kudus. Claudia Scheunemann, Shafira Ika, and Sheva Imut came to watch Ika and the Surakarta team compete against the Kudus team in the final match of the MilkLife Soccer Challenge All-Stars.

Especially Claudia, the national team player has become an idol for young female footballers. Claudia's name is often mentioned when these young female footballers are asked about who their idols are.

When Claudia, Shafira, and Sheva came to the stands, the players enthusiastically asked for autographs and photos. Not a few even suddenly took off their shoes for their idols to sign. They smiled widely when they managed to get the autographs.

"Clau is happy that there is a special tournament for women's football. When Clau was little, there was none. So, seeing this is amazing," said Claudia, who made her debut with the senior women's national team at the age of 13.

Claudia hopes that the tournament that has been running since 2023 will continue to be held consistently and in stages. That way, the players can also regularly participate in the competition. "You have to work hard, don't give up quickly, but don't be satisfied quickly, you have to practice a lot," said Claudia as a message to her younger siblings.

The women's national team coach Satoru Mochizuki, who also came to Kudus, said the tournament would answer the desire or dream of women to become footballers. The tournament is a stage for their abilities as well as a place to spread love for football.

Mochizuki also believes that the inspiration and motivation from the women's national team players will help strengthen the hearts of the children with their bold dreams. Dreams cannot stand alone. There needs to be support from various parties so that the steep path can be passed.

That support is also the foundation behind the organization of the MilkLife Soccer Challenge. When initiating the tournament, President Director of the Djarum Foundation Victor Hartono had a big dream of building Indonesian women's soccer to reach world level. Victor believes that Indonesia's path to the Women's World Cup will be open if women's soccer has a strong foundation.

For that, Victor emphasized the importance of support through coaching that begins with marketing, then organizing tournaments, and ensuring that tournaments run regularly and in stages. This was realized through the MilkLife Soccer Challenge.

"We are close to that dream," Victor said. However, Victor said there are still a few more years to continue evaluating and developing women's soccer.

"We have started at the age of 10 and 12 years, then will continue at the age of 14 and 16 years. Later there will be a new challenge in the form of the AFF U-16 Cup as the host. The key is to be tiered and sustainable," he said.

Along the way, Victor also saw that women's soccer is also a face of national diversity. With players coming from various schools, regions, and ethnic and religious backgrounds, the women's soccer tournament is a reminder that despite their differences, they still share the same field and dreams.

For Amanda, Ayla, Ika Wonda, or these young dreamers, the support of those around them means that a world that once seemed far away now feels close. Their dreams have been sown and are starting to grow.

As Amanda recalled the moment three months ago when she decided to move schools, the song “Menggapai Puncak Dunia” by JKT48 and Laleilmanino which was the soundtrack of Nyla animation was heard in the Supersoccer Arena Stadium. Amanda smiled.

Don't want my dream to come true

Flowers in my sleep again

Leave this dream

I'll take you away to fly high

Reaching the top of the world…