The Latest Confusion

Remember the Indonesia Premier League that began a couple of weeks ago when Persib played Semen Padang? The league that was going to have 24 clubs? Well, the latest is that there will be 18 teams when it kicks off again, though don't ask when that might be. Them folks have yet to finish a league that they started.

Anyway that 18 teams is contingent on the likes of Sriwijaya, Persipura, Mitra Kukar and Persiwa joining. If they don't then that 24 team league will become a 14 team league with only Persib, Arema and Bontang having no connection with last season's game changer, the LPI.

The Persija who have entered the IPL are not THE Persija. They are Jakarta FC from the LPI using Persija's name. Persija, the real one, won't have anything to do with the new league and are ready to join this season's rival league.

Quite how a team with no history and no fans and only half a season playing football can be allowed to usurp another team's name and history beggars belief but hey, this is Indonesia and things can and do get whackier with each passing season.