Bonek 1927 as Ultras
“GreenNord27 belongs to all of us. It doesn’t belong to a particular community. No one [group] dominates and no one has a monopoly on it. No one feels the most heroic; no one takes credit for having given the most service or having the rights to it. Everyone: One Heart, One Attitude and One Movement. […]
Bonek Against the President
Letter to President Jokowi from Bonek 1927 On the Eve of the 70th Anniversary of Indonesia’s Independence “We Demand a Mental Revolution for Clean Football” Presiden Jokowi, whom we venerate, We pray that you – Father President – are always given health so that you are able to carry out the obligations of the national […]
Amsterdam Olympic Stadium
/1/ A stadium has multiple lives: it’s an architectural structure that can serve grand political interests and ideologies, as well as those more local. In de Certeau’s terms, a stadium is a kind strategy, and within it, and around it, users make it a site of their tactics. A stadium can both serve as a […]
Fashioning a Statement
Football fashion in Indonesia mixes global styles with local identity. The small, independently run boutiques seek to capitalise on support for local teams, while at the same time, appropriating the casual style from England and Italy. These are fans who are defiantly local in their support of domestic teams and up-to-date with contemporary football fashion. […]
Football during Ramadan
*by A. Widya Syadzwina (trans.Andy Fuller). @widyasyadzwina **An Indonesian version of this article first appeared at Fandom.id (photos by Erick Didu of Cakrawala newspaper, Makassar) This article focuses on one of the inter-kampung competitions in Indonesia. A.Widya Syadzwina explores football during Ramadan in Makassar. This year, however, the competition is not only healthier than usual, […]
An Englishman and ADO Den Haag
It is mid-morning in an outer suburb of The Hague. HVV Haaglandia is the site for a gathering of supporters of ADO Den Haag, Legia Warsaw, Juventus, Club Brugge and Sparta Rotterdam. I have come to the event with Neal McClimon, an Englishman, who is well-known and respected amongst ADO fans. Neal is nursing a […]
Warkop Pitulikur and Football Activism
*by Fajar Junaedi and Andy Fuller **an earlier version of this article was published on Football Fandom Indonesia. ***photos by Husin Ghozali Resistance towards injustice can appear anywhere. The resistance to the political forces that have sought to kill off the Persebaya football club emerged at an informal coffee house (warung kopi) known as Warkop […]
Gelora Bung Karno Stadium
Gelora Bung Karno Stadium is one of the great Sukarno-era monuments of Jakarta. It is the home of Persija football club and also the offices of the PSSI – The Indonesian Football Federation. (Official page is here, Persija, and fans page, is here JakOnline). The venue is used for rock concerts – Deep Purple, Metallica […]
Support Your Local Team
In 2014, I spent some time with the Brajamusti supporter group of Yogyakarta. They actively support and work for the team, PSIM: a second division club with a long history. Indonesia has tens of millions of enthusiastic football fans. It is a football mad country. Many of the fans, however, support English, Italian or Spanish […]
What’s your next move, PSSI?
*Article by Ary Wibowo, Kompas newspaper, Jakarta **Translated by Andy Fuller Football, in Indonesia, is like a party. Football can become a means of national resistance, entertainment, a resource of happy stories, as well as a means of making a living. How depressing Indonesia would be without football.People of all ages – from very young […]