Indonesia withdraw from ASEAN Club Championship over AFF dispute

The ASEAN Club Championship trophy. Photo by VnExpress/Hieu Luong

Under AFF regulations for this season, each country sends the champions and runners-up of their national league or the winners of their national cup to the tournament. Accordingly, AFF selected Persib Bandung and Dewa United, the champion and runner-up of Indonesia's 2024–2025 Liga 1, to represent the country. However, Liga 1's governing body (LIB) declined this selection and instead nominated the third and fourth-placed clubs, Malut United and Persebaya.

"We made our decision based on regulations and the agreement with all participating clubs at the start of the season," LIB president Ferry Paulus told local media on July 3. "The champion and runner-up will focus on Asian-level competitions, while the third and fourth teams will compete at the Southeast Asian level."

AFF planned to expand the group stage of the ASEAN Club Championship from 12 to 14 teams, aiming to ensure each club plays three home and three away matches. With Indonesia's withdrawal, the group stage will still feature 14 teams.

Four teams, DH Cebu (Philippines), Shan United (Myanmar), Ezra (Laos) and Kasuka (Brunei), will compete in a play-off for two remaining spots in the group stage. They will join 10 other teams from Thailand (3), Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore (2) and Cambodia (1).

Despite Indonesia's absence, the tournament format remains unchanged. The group-stage teams will be divided into two groups playing in a round-robin format. Higher-seeded teams will enjoy the advantage of three home games. The top two teams from each group will progress to the semifinals, which will be played over two legs.

Last season, Thailand's Buriram United were crowned champions after a dramatic 5-5 aggregate draw with Vietnam's Cong An Ha Noi in the two-legged final. Buriram won the title with a 3-2 victory in the penalty shootout.