The southeast asian football federation (AFF) wanted the champions and runners-up of the national leagues, or national cup winners, to participate in the 2025-2026 southeast asian club cup. Therefore, they selected Persib Bandung and Dewa United, the champion and runner-up of the 2024-2025 Liga 1, Indonesia's top-tier league.

However, the PSSI and the Liga 1 management (LIB) wanted these two clubs to focus on Asian competitions. Good results in these tournaments would raise Liga 1’s ranking, allowing Indonesia to have more representatives in the top two Asian club competitions: the AFC Champions League Elite and Two. After discussions with the clubs at the start of the 2024-2025 season, LIB chose not to follow AFF regulations, instead selecting the third and 4th placed teams, Malut United and Persebaya.

Indonesian club PSM Makassar (white) lost 0-2 to Cong An Ha Noi in the second leg of the 2024-2025 southeast asian club cup semi-final at Hang Day stadium, Hanoi on 30/4/2025. Photo: Hoang Huynh

Indonesian club PSM Makassar (white) lost 0-2 to Cong An Ha Noi in the second leg of the 2024-2025 southeast asian club cup semi-final at Hang Day stadium, Hanoi on 30/4/2025. Photo: Hoang Huynh

Unable to reach an agreement, Indonesia accepted having no representatives in the southeast asian tournament. “It's okay,” PSSI chairman Erick Thohir told Indonesian media. “We will continue our work because we have our own strengths in domestic and Asian competitions.”

Thohir dismissed the notion that Indonesian clubs weren't ready for international competition. In addition to the agreement with domestic clubs, he cited geographical challenges, which make travel more difficult for Indonesian clubs compared to other teams in the region.

“We have 18 clubs in our national league, while other countries have only 12 to 14, with Singapore having only 6. Indonesia's second-tier league has 20 teams,” Thohir said. “Indonesia has 17,000 islands, so the travel distance between clubs is an issue.”

Without the two Indonesian representatives, the 2025-2026 southeast asian club cup has 16 teams, with four competing in play-offs. After Tuesday afternoon's draw, Group A consists of: Cong An Ha Noi (Vietnam), Buriram United (Thailand), Tampines Rovers (Singapore), Selangor (Malaysia), and BP Pathum United (Thailand).

Group B comprises: Nam Dinh (Vietnam), Svay Rieng (Cambodia), Lion City Sailors (Singapore), and Bangkok United (Thailand).

In the play-offs, the winner of Kasuka FC (Brunei) versus Dynamic Herb Cebu (Philippines) will join Group A. The winner of Ezra FC (Laos) versus Shan United (Myanmar) will join Group B.

The tournament runs from 8/8/2025 to 27/5/2026. The 12 teams are divided into two groups for a single round-robin stage. The higher-seeded teams in each group will play three home matches and two away matches. The top four teams from each group will advance to the single-leg quarter-finals. From the semi-finals onwards, matches will be played on a home-and-away basis.

Hieu Luong (CNN Indonesia)