Youth and Sports Minister Dito Ariotedjo applauded the 20 teams that have advanced to the Grand Finale of the Road to Gothia Cup 2025. He expressed hope that the event will discover new talents akin to Marselino Ferdinan.
The regional rounds of the Gothia Cup 2025 have concluded, producing 20 teams for the Grand Finale. This phase will be held at ASIOP Stadium, Cempaka Putih, Central Jakarta, on November 23-24, 2024.
The 20 teams include Jakarta region representatives such as ASIOP, Nawasena FC, Cipta Cendikia, and Labskill. From the Bandung region, participants include Akademi Persib Cimahi Biru, RMIFA Merah, Star Warriors FA, and Akademi Persib Cimahi Putih.
The Surabaya region will be represented by Diklat Reklamindo Kota Batu, Farfaza FC Kota Surabaya, Diklat Gama Kota Malang, and FORSGI Sidoarjo. From Solo, there are G Soccer, Diklat Wajar, Mars Merah, and Mataram Utama.
Makassar’s representatives are SSB Hasanudin Red and FORSGI Lamasi, while Pekanbaru is represented by Bintang Timur Payakumbuh and Duri Galaxy Riau.
In the Grand Finale, the 20 teams will be divided into four groups, each consisting of five teams. Using a round-robin format, the group winners and runners-up will advance to the quarterfinals, where the competition will follow a knockout format until the final. Matches in the Grand Finale will have a duration of 2×10 minutes.
The Grand Finale will not only determine the champion to be sent to the Gothia Cup 2025 in Sweden but will also select six to eight outstanding players as All-Stars. These All-Star players will accompany the winning team to Sweden.
During the event, Minister Dito expressed his hope for the emergence of young football talents to continue the legacy of Indonesia’s senior national team players in the future.
“This event is a step forward in fostering athlete regeneration. Regeneration is a critical variable in sports, as athletes need to be nurtured and developed from an early age,” said Minister Dito during a press conference at the Kemenpora Media Center on Wednesday (11/20/2024).
“We want to discover new Marselinos, like last night (Indonesia vs. Saudi Arabia), who scored two goals. Once again, I express my gratitude to SKF,” added the Golkar politician.
“Moving forward, the Ministry of Youth and Sports aims to collaborate with private entities to invest and contribute to Indonesian sports. We hope this can be realized,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mohamad Faisal, Director of the “Meet the World With SKF Road to Gothia Cup 2025” competition, affirmed the readiness for the Grand Finale in Jakarta.
“We congratulate the Grand Finale participants, who represent the best from the regional rounds. All preparations for the Grand Finale in Jakarta have gone smoothly. We hope the teams will continue to play with sportsmanship and fair play,” said Mohamad Faisal.
