The League 1 , by 2017 Indonesia Super League (ISL, Indones. Liga Super Indonesia ), is the highest football league Indonesia . Together with Liga 2 , the second highest division, it forms the Liga Indonesia .
The Indonesia Super League or the Liga Indonesia was founded in 1994 when the semi-professional Li ga Sepakbo la U tama (Galatama) and the amateur league Perserikatan merged. The Liga Indonesia has the status of a professional league. The first professional league in Indonesia consisted of 34 clubs, which were divided into two divisions (West and East). The four best clubs in each division qualified for the Final 8 Championship Playoffs , where two groups of four teams played. The two group winners ultimately played the country's champions. In 1995 Persib Bandung defeated Petrokimia Putra 1-0 in the final. First scorer of the new league was Peri Sandria of Bandung Raya with 34 goals in 37 games. In the following years there were repeated changes in the mode of the Super League. Although the AFC has been demanding professional structures from its member associations for a long time, the national association PSSI is only now putting pressure on the clubs. The 2009 season was in chaos. For the new season, every club is required to have a home stadium and a professional coach for the teams. In 2015 the championships were canceled due to the intervention of the Minister for Youth and Sports.
The Indonesia Super League was renamed League 1 in 2017 .
The rule for foreign players has changed several times since the league was founded. Currently, a maximum of four foreigners are allowed in each team, one of whom must come from an Asian country. All four players are allowed to stand on the pitch at the same time.
Although the clubs mainly employ Indonesian players, some well-known international professionals also played in Indonesia. In 1996, for example, the Argentine world champion Mario Kempes played for Pelita Jaya from Bandung together with the Cameroonian Roger Milla . However, both were over 40 years old at the time. From 2017 to 2018 Michael Essien played for the Jawan club Persib Bandung . Due to the regulation that only four foreign players per club can be in the squad, he had to leave the club after a year.
Former Asian Associations
Federation Malaya | North Yemen 2 | North Vietnam 2 | Palestine / Eretz Israel (British Mandate Palestine) |
Soviet Union | South Yemen 2 | South Vietnam 2 | United Arab Republic (Syria / Egypt)
1 associate member of the AFC 2 former member of the AFC