Persija Jakarta

Persatuan Sepakbola Indonesia Jakarta (commonly known as Persija Jakarta, literally translates to Indonesian Football Association of Jakarta), is a professional football club based in the Indonesian capital city of Jakarta. Persija Jakarta is one of the most successful football clubs in Indonesia with 2 Indonesian League titles and 9 Perserikatan titles. It has never been in a lower league since a nationwide competition started in 1930, fifteen years before Indonesia became an independent country. Persija is one of the founders of the Indonesian football association PSSI, along with six other clubs. Persija's rivalry with fellow PSSI founder Persib Bandung has gone on for decades, occasionally marred by violence.

History

Foundation and early years

Persija has roots that predate the current Indonesian state, which declared independence in 1945. Its forerunner, the Voetbalbond Indonesische Jacatra (VIJ), was formed on 28 November 1928 as a football club for indigenous residents of Jakarta when the Dutch were still colonizing the country. The name Jacatra refers to a fort on the northern coast of present-day Jakarta. VIJ, along with six other indigenous clubs, established PSSI on 19 April 1930 and won the first PSSI-authorized competition in 1931.

Post-independence

VIJ changed its name to Persija in 1950, five years after the 1945 Indonesian independence. In mid-1951, a club with ethnic Chinese, Dutch and Eurasian players joined the rebranded outfit. As the Indonesian national football team in the 1950s heavily depended on Persija, its line-ups at that time were filled by many ethnic Chinese, Dutch and Eurasian players from the Jakarta club.

Amateur years (1951-1994)

After the 1945 independence, national football competitions in Indonesia centred on region-based associations of amateur clubs that received funding from the state. These associations, including Persija, played against each other in an annual