NOC Indonesia Protes Ketidakhadiran Timnas di Sepak Bola Asian Games 2026

JAKARTA - The Indonesian Olympic Committee (NOC Indonesia) lodged a protest after it was confirmed that the Indonesian National Team (Timnas) was confirmed to be absent in the 2026 Asian Games football branch in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.

President of the Indonesian NOC, Raja Sapta Oktohari, said that diplomatic efforts are currently being intensified to fight against new regulations that are considered awkward and detrimental to the participation of Asian countries in the multi-branch party.

"We have responded to what the OCA (Olympic Council of Asia) has done. If football turns out to be a grading process without qualification, this is not unusual," said Okto, the nickname of Raja Sapta Oktohari, after holding a meeting with Minister of Youth and Sports Erick Thohir in Jakarta.

The question of the Indonesian National Team not being able to appear at the Asian Games arose after the new policy from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and the Asian Olympic Council (OCA) which only involves teams that qualify for the 2026 U-23 Asian Cup.

The decision makes Indonesia, which failed to penetrate the two events, likely not to take part in Japan later. However, the protest expressed by the Indonesian NOC could open the Garuda Squad's hopes.

Okto said that the decisions made by the two bodies were clearly very detrimental to Indonesia and other countries. In addition, this is something unusual in the multi-branch event.

"We continue to communicate. We thank the Minister of Youth and Sports yesterday for his support so that the communication we made to the OCA directly will hopefully have an impact on the policies that will be taken later," he said.

The 2026 Asian Games are scheduled to take place from September 19 to October 4. Football is one of the 43 sports that will be contested in the Asian Games.