Indonesia launches a new football tournament structure for its top two professional league tiers
In short: The 2026–27 season marks the inaugural edition of the Indonesian League Cup, a competition uniting all 38 clubs from the Super League and the Championship. By integrating teams based on geography and previous performance, the tournament introduces a fresh competitive dynamic to the nation's professional football landscape this year.
Participation is mandatory for all 38 clubs across these two tiers. To maintain competitive balance, each participating team is restricted to registering only three foreign players, a rule designed to emphasize local talent development while still allowing for international influence within the squads.
The tournament's group stage, which held its draw on 7 October 2026, features 36 teams divided into 12 groups of three. These teams were seeded into three pots of 12 based on a combination of their home base's geographical location and their final standings from the previous league season. Only the winners of these 12 groups advance to the round of 12. In these knockout matches, the home team is determined by performance metrics from the group stage, specifically using tiebreaking criteria to reward the higher-ranked club with home-field advantage.
A unique feature of this inaugural season is the staggered entry of clubs involved in Asian competitions. While most teams begin in the group stage, the two Super League clubs participating in Asian tournaments—Persib and Borneo Samarinda—receive a bye directly into the third round. They are joined there by the six winners from the round of 12, creating a total of eight teams for that stage. From there, the competition proceeds through the quarter-finals and semi-finals, establishing a clear path for clubs to navigate the tournament's complex structure toward the final.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: 2026–27 League Cup (Indonesia)
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