Kapten I Wayan Dipta Stadium in Gianyar has been chosen to host the semifinals and final of the 2026 Piala Presiden. The tournament’s decisive match is scheduled for August 6. Despite the significance of the event, the stands will remain closed to spectators due to security concerns.
The final stage of the tournament was originally scheduled to take place in Surabaya, Java. However, following consultations between the President’s Cup Steering Committee, local authorities and the Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI), the matches were moved to Bali.
The choice of a neutral venue was primarily due to the semifinal line-up. The four clubs competing for the trophy have some of Indonesia’s largest fan bases. They have historically been regarded as the country’s fiercest rivals.
The first semifinal featured Jakarta’s Persija and Bandung’s Persib, a classic Indonesian rivalry. The second semifinal was a fiercely contested East Java derby between Persebaya of Surabaya and Arema of Malang.
Due to the high tensions between the clubs’ supporters, the organisers and law enforcement authorities made the unprecedented decision to hold the matches behind closed doors. Safety was cited as the priority.
Tickets were not made available to the general public. Only the teams, coaching staff, officials, accredited media and security personnel will be allowed into the stadium grounds. The organisers stress that any offers to purchase tickets for these matches from resellers or online are fraudulent, as no official ticket allocations for supporters exist.
Schedule and broadcasts
The semifinal matches took place on Tuesday, 4 August. Persebaya defeated Arema 1:0.
The third-place play-off and the grand final will take place at the same stadium on Thursday, 6 August. As the matches will be held behind closed doors, viewers are advised to follow them via live broadcasts on Indonesia’s national television channel Indosiar and the Vidio streaming platform.
This year, the prize money for the President’s Cup winner was increased from 6 to 8 billion Indonesian rupiah.
However, the current edition may be the last to follow the familiar club competition format. PSSI Chairman Erick Thohir said that the President’s Cup would be reformatted in the future following the creation of a new domestic tournament, the League Cup. Starting next year, the tournament is expected to be refocused entirely on developing the Indonesian national team.
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