28 Clubs ranging from the Super League down to Liga 4 owe a total of IDR 14.8 Billion in unpaid player salaries.

Unpaid salary issues remain a major unresolved challenge for Indonesian football ahead of the launch of the new competition season. The Indonesian Professional Footballers Association (APPI) has revealed that 28 clubs spanning Liga 1 through Liga 4 still hold outstanding salary obligations to players, with total arrears reaching approximately IDR 14.8 billion.

APPI Legal Counsel Mohammad Agus Riza Hufaida confirmed these arrears cover both cases reported directly to the association, as well as formal rulings issued by the National Dispute Resolution Chamber (NDRC) that have not yet been enforced by clubs.

"Across all cases under our oversight -- both direct player reports and final, unexecuted NDRC rulings -- there are 28 clubs involved. This impacts 303 total players across every division from Liga 1 down to Liga 4, with the full outstanding amount standing at roughly 14.8 billion rupiah," stated Mohammad Agus Riza Hufaida during an address at the I.League offices in Jakarta.

This figure confirms player welfare failures persist at every tier of Indonesian football, not only within the top division.

303 Players Impacted By Unpaid Wages

At least 303 players are affected by the salary arrears from these 28 clubs, with the named clubs operating across every level of the national competition structure.

Clubs listed on APPI's records include: PSM Makassar, Semen Padang, PSMS Medan, Persiku Kudus, PSIS Semarang, RANS FC, Sriwijaya FC, Persikota Tangerang, Persinab Sang Maestro, Persipa Pati, Persitara North Jakarta, Persibo Bojonegoro, Persekat Tegal, Persiwa Wamena, Persid Jember, PS Siak, Bantul United, PSM Madiun, Depok Raya FC, Kalteng Putra, Pakuan City, Persewar Waropen, Persikab Bandung Regency, PSGJ Cirebon, Persikabo 1973, and Waanal Brother FC.

For APPI, this is not merely an administrative club issue. Salary payment is a fundamental player right that must be honoured once athletes have fulfilled their contractual obligations on the pitch.

Riza called on all affected clubs to resolve these outstanding payments immediately.

"This is a basic worker right. There is a well known teaching that states you must pay a labourer their wages before their sweat dries," he added.

APPI Calls For Strict Enforceable Sanctions

APPI has urged that this cycle of repeated salary arrears must not continue once the upcoming new competition season commences.

According to Riza, clubs that fail to meet their contractual obligations to players must face firm, meaningful consequences -- including formal review of their eligibility to participate in official league competition.

"On preventing salary failures entirely, we have repeatedly tabled mitigation proposals for years now. This includes enforcing zero tolerance for arrears as a core requirement of club licensing," he explained.

Riza noted that appropriate safeguard systems have already been proposed multiple times. The root problem is consistent, impartial enforcement of existing rules, to break the cycle of unpaid wages repeating every season.

Three Previous Super League Clubs Implicated

Riza confirmed that salary arrears issues are still occurring even at the very top tier of Indonesian football.

During the most recently completed competitive season, three Super League clubs held outstanding player salary cases: PSBS Biak, PSM Makassar and Semen Padang.

The PSBS Biak case has drawn particular scrutiny. Riza stated that warning signs of this payment failure emerged long before the previous season concluded, meaning the situation could and should have been proactively addressed.

As of the time of the statement, affected PSBS Biak players are still yet to receive their owed salaries.

This situation demonstrates unpaid wages do not only arise after a competition finishes. Active monitoring and early intervention as soon as issues emerge is critical to prevent problems from escalating.

Upgrading The League Starts With Respecting Player Rights

Public discourse around raising the standard and international standing of Indonesian football is ongoing. However, APPI stresses that all efforts to elevate the league will be meaningless if basic fundamental player rights continue to be violated.

Riza stated that full, on-time salary payment should be an undisputed minimum standard, especially for clubs competing in the top national division.

"We talk constantly about taking our league to the next level, yet we still cannot resolve this most basic issue of honouring players' contractual rights," he remarked.

For this reason, APPI is demanding that these salary arrears are fully resolved once and for all, rather than becoming a tolerated recurring problem every single season.

"This should have been left behind years ago. Going forward this cannot be allowed to happen anymore. At the absolute minimum, there must be zero unpaid salary cases in Liga 1. That is the non-negotiable priority," he concluded.