Amid the match-fixing issue in Liga 1, Persija Jakarta became the champion of the 2018 Liga 1 after the decisive match against Mitra Kukar at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium which ended 2-1 for Persija Jakarta. A tie result would make Persija Jakarta fail to win the league as PSM Makassar, the runner-up, won the match against PSMS Medan with 5-1. Both Mitra Kukar and PSMS Medan are relegated to Liga 2 after the defeats.
This is the 11th league title for Persija Jakarta, they won the latest title in 2001 or 17 years ago. We can see that the city is hungry for the title.
Like in many other countries, in Indonesia Football is also a sport for the masses. Public enthusiasm is high despite our low achievements in Asia. For many, football is more than just a game, it's more like a religion.
Thanks to Twitter, now we can see what's happening in the world easily. I use the #PersijaJuara hashtag to track people's posts. #PersijaJuara means Persija the Champion.
People are sharing their moments via Twitter. Let's see how the city is celebrating the league title from people's tweets.
Before the match, you can see how the Jakmania, Persija Jakarta fans, were organizing themselves and went to the stadium together by bus to watch the decisive match.
After a tight match, Persija Jakarta finally won the title for the first time in 17 years.
And the party begins. Feel the passion, feel the moments.
Nothing has changed, people's lives have not become easier. But they are happier now thanks to the title.
...then Politicians are Hopping on the Bandwagon
As a popular sport, many politicians have been trying to use football for their political gain. We can also see this now, many politicians are claiming the Persija title. As Jakarta governor is from the opposition parties, they are claiming that the title is thanks to the governor.
Indonesia is in political years, we will face a general election and a presidential election in April 2019. So, any stage big enough will definitely be used by politicians to promote themselves and their parties.
This is one of the examples of how politicians are free-riding the victory.
This lady is fighting for a Jakarta legislative seat, she is from PKS, one of the opposition parties, so she put her photo alongside the governor's and congratulate the team. She is trying to take credit for the win.
This is another example of the case. Another local politician trying to take credit.
The method may work for the local politicians who fight in the local election. But it's a different story if you fight in the national stage. A congratulation tweet to Persija Jakarta and to the governor by Gerindra, one of the opposition parties, backfired and received many harsh replies from Persib Bandung fans, a rival of Persija Jakarta. Realized that they may lose many voters in Bandung and West Java, Gerindra deleted the tweet. West Java is more populous than Jakarta, around 4 times of Jakarta, and is an important basis for the opposition parties. That's why Gerindra deleted their tweet.
But the president's supporters are still circulating the screenshot of the tweet, hoping that some of Persib Bandung fans will cast their vote to President Jokowi in the upcoming election.
It's sad to see how politicians use football for their political gain, but football doesn't live in the emptiness. It lives among the people with their lives and their problems. So there must be socio-political aspects of football that we can't avoid.
Anyway, congratulations to Persija Jakarta, and let's kick politics out of football!
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