Sandy Pramuji

Persija Jakarta Plans to Fly Solo

Slowly but surely, Persija Jakarta is becoming fully professional.

PT Persija Jaya, the club’s management company, announced on Friday that it had secured entrepreneur Edy Joenardi as a new investor. The deal will help end the club’s dependence on government funding and quash merger talks with city rival Persitara North Jakarta.

Edy pledged Rp 30 billion ($3 million) in investment per year for the next five years — a large commitment for a team that finished seventh last season and has not won a league title since 2001.

“I’m not looking for profit in the first two years,” Edy told state-run news agency Antara. “But I am sure Persija has very good prospects to develop into a profitable sports business entity.

“We want to be the forerunner in Indonesian sports industry. We want to be an example that a club can be run without even a single cent from the government.”

Edy is now PT Persija Jaya’s largest stakeholder and chief director, replacing general director Bambang Sutjipto.

Edy owns majority shares in Singapore-based hedge fund i-Capital International, PT Indonesia Heavy Equipment and PT Ejra Energy, with an estimated Rp 12 trillion to Rp 16 trillion in total assets.

Securing new investment was a relief for Persija. The capital club, already beset by poor performance on the field and struggling to keep its players, faced a possible merger with Persitara after the Jakarta city government said it could no longer fund two Indonesian Super League clubs.

It asked the rivals to merge and ease the burden on the city budget, which doled out Rp 38 billion between the two clubs last season.

With the new investor’s arrival, Bambang said merger talks were off.

“We’ve talked to the Jakarta government about this and they said they appreciated us finding investors,” Bambang said in a phone interview on Monday. “The government said it will give us its full support.”

He also said gaining Edy’s confidence was not easy, and that it took nearly a year of discussions before they reached a deal.

“He’s a successful businessman, so I’m sure he can make Persija a profitable business entity,” Bambang said. “He now owns roughly 70 percent of PT Persija Jaya shares.”

Edy’s cash alone is not enough to cover Persija’s expenses, though. Bambang said the club was in talks with Bank Mandiri and several other unnamed companies regarding sponsorship.

The goal is to raise Rp 30 billion to Rp 40 billion per year.

“Persija has a huge fan base. [Persija supporters’ club] Jakmania has 40,000 members, and I think that number will lure sponsors to us,” Bambang said.

With its financial problems easing, Persija can now focus on building a team for the new Super League season, which begins in October. Its first task is to replace departed coach Danurwindo.

Bambang said the club had reached a deal with Portuguese coach Rafael Alberto Gomez, who will arrive in Jakarta next week. The coach’s one-year deal includes Rp 500 million in salary, an apartment and transport.

Persija saw midfielder Ponaryo Astaman leave for Sriwijaya FC on Saturday, and defender Ismed Sofyan could be the next Kemayoran Tiger to depart. One player staying for the time being is striker Bambang Pamungkas after contract negotiations with Sriwijaya broke down.

Meanwhile, Persitara’s fate remains unclear. Manager Harry Ruswanto is still in talks with the North Jakarta city government, which he said must help the club for at least one more season before it becomes self-sufficient.

Also on Saturday, coach Jaya Hartono reversed his decision to join newly promoted Persebaya Surabaya and signed a one-year contract extension with Persib Bandung.

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