Persipura advances to the AFC Cup to replace Persija, who was rejected by the AFC – Persija Jakarta’s desire to appear again in the Asian competition has disappeared. PSSI finally decided Persipura Jayapura as Indonesia’s representative to follow Bali United to appear in the 2022 AFC Cup.
Initially, the Asian Football Federation (AFC) sent a letter to PSSI on (12/18/2022) regarding Indonesia’s representatives in the 2022 AFC Cup. The AFC wants the selected club to be the same as the 2022 AFC Club Competition Manual Entry.
In other words, the AFC did not agree to propose Persija Jakarta as Indonesia’s representative considering that their position was only the runner-up of the Indonesian Cup. Initially, the AFC Cup slot was available for the winning team but PSM Makassar did not meet the club license requirements.
The AFC argues that the grade of the League Cup in this case is the Indonesian Cup, which is below the level of the league competition. Until the runner-up of the Indonesian Cup was not on the same level as the runner-up of the League 1 competition.
Therefore, the AFC did not pass Persija to appear in the AFC Cup considering that there were still teams ranked three in the League 1 competition that could qualify for the licensing club. Initially, Persebaya Surabaya, which was ranked 2nd in the final standings, did not fulfill the AFC club license requirements.
“The AFC understands the goals and direction of PSSI which chose Persija as the runner-up for the 2022/2022 Indonesian Cup. But the AFC wants clubs playing in the 2022 AFC Cup to have the same entry manual for the 2022 AFC Club Competition regarding Sporting Criteria,” said PSSI Acting Secretary General Yunus Nusi, Sunday (12/20/2022).
With this answer from the AFC, the Persipura Jayapura team will accompany Bali United to participate in the 2022 AFC Cup in the future. Persipura was chosen because they are in third place in the 2022 Liga 1 and obtained a professional club license during the AFC Club Licensing Cycle 2022.
PSSI responded to PT Persipura Papua’s letter on December 17, 2022. In addition, a participating team agreement form was included which needed to be filled out and signed off by the Club President. Then the power point file is related to club info, and the jersey color form.
The Persipura team must complete these requirements and return them to PSSI no later than December 21, 2022. Except for the 3 conditions above, it is desirable to be able to send a certificate of stadium lighting that will be used.
Source: sindonews.com
