Indonesian football is embroiled in rumors of forming its own federation, prompting an immediate reprimand from the AFC.

Indonesian football is suffering the consequences of fans' anger.

Yunus Nusi stated: "This is an unfounded rumor. However, it led to PSSI being reprimanded by the AFC in a recent event related to the establishment of the East Asian Football Federation. We hope this rumor will be dispelled soon, especially since it is considered baseless. Indonesian football fans should not support this completely untrue issue."

Bóng đá Indonesia vướng tin đồn thành lập liên đoàn riêng, AFC lập tức khiển trách- Ảnh 1. — The Indonesian national team has been "Dutchified," but still hasn't seen their dream of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup come to an end. Fans are now wanting to form their own football federation, drawing reprimands from the AFC.

Previously, this rumor originated from a television channel in Iraq, claiming that the South Korean and Japanese Football Federations, due to their dissatisfaction with the AFC's handling of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in the Asian region, as well as the top-tier club cup competitions (AFC Champions League), had long intended to leave the organization and form their own federation.

Football federations in South Korea and Japan also want to invite Southeast Asian countries such as Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam to join in forming a separate football organization independent of the AFC, which would be called the East Asian Football Confederation (EAC).

This event immediately received overwhelming support from Indonesian fans, and of course from Iraqi fans as well. Meanwhile, the South Korean and Japanese Football Federations remained silent on these rumors, perhaps because they were too absurd.

However, it's not difficult to see that this is an unfounded rumor. The reason is that both Indonesian and Iraqi football teams are disappointed as neither of them qualified for the 2026 World Cup. The Iraqi team only has some consolation in playing two play-off matches against the UAE in November; if they overcome them, they will seek an opportunity in the intercontinental play-off in March 2026.

Indonesian and Iraqi fans were particularly disappointed because the AFC awarded the hosting rights for two groups in the fourth round of qualifiers to Saudi Arabia and Qatar, instead of holding the matches on neutral ground as originally scheduled. This gave Saudi Arabia and Qatar a significant advantage and they officially secured the two spots in the 2026 World Cup after the matches played last October.

Bóng đá Indonesia vướng tin đồn thành lập liên đoàn riêng, AFC lập tức khiển trách- Ảnh 2. — Japan (center) is the first team in the Asian region to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.

Press reports in Iraq and Indonesia suggest that the AFC has leaned more toward supporting countries in West Asia than East Asia. This has led to rumors that the South Korean and Japanese football federations want to break away from the AFC to form their own. A majority of Indonesian fans support this, creating social media trends and even suggesting that the PSSI (Indonesian Football Association) is ready to leave the Asian football governing body.

"Several AFC member federations have asked us about the media hype in Indonesia regarding Japan and South Korea's plans to leave Asian football. This is not good for PSSI. This has spread rapidly within the AFC community as social media in Indonesia reported and promoted this untrue claim."

Even other countries (allegedly) will join alongside Japan and South Korea. This is not true. So, pay attention, because this will not be good for PSSI, the AFC has already reprimanded. The reason is that the AFC is very active on social media, they know all the issues. To the point that some people even said that Iraq also wants to leave the AFC. It's unbelievable," said Yunus Nusi, Secretary General of PSSI, in a recent warning.

Indonesian football is suffering the consequences of fans' anger.

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