VOINews, Jakarta: The MilkLife Soccer Challenge Jakarta Series 2 for girls' youth soccer in 2024 has seen a significant rise in participation, tripling in size compared to the previous series. This tournament, featuring young female athletes, kicked off on November 6 and will run until November 10 at the Kingkong Soccer Arena and Atang Sutresna Stadium, Cijantung, East Jakarta.
A total of 1,359 students from 85 schools are competing in the event, a testament to the growing enthusiasm for youth soccer among girls. The participants are divided into 31 teams in the Under-10 (U-10) category and 88 teams in the Under-12 (U-12) category, a substantial increase from the first series, which featured only 9 teams in the U-10 and 25 in the U-12 categories, with a total of 368 players.
Program Director of the MilkLife Soccer Challenge, Teddy Tjahjono, expressed excitement about the expansion in participant numbers. “The increase in participants, more than threefold, is a positive development for us as organizers. The higher the number of participants, the better the chances of discovering emerging talent that can be further developed,” Teddy said in a statement on Saturday.
This expansion is also seen as a step toward fostering talent within the sport on a larger scale. Teddy shared that MilkLife is currently preparing a development roadmap with the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) to extend the competition into the U-14, U-16, U-18, and professional senior levels.
“We’re not only committed to consistently hosting the MilkLife Soccer Challenge for ages 10 and 12, but together with PSSI, we’re working on a roadmap to build a pathway for girls’ soccer in Indonesia at the U-14, U-16, U-18, and professional levels. This effort aims to produce a new generation of high-quality female players,” Teddy explained.
Assistant Head Coach of the MilkLife Soccer Challenge, Asep Sunarya, noted that the tournament has attracted several promising new talents, catching the eye of scouts. He highlighted the potential of these young players to shape the future of women’s soccer in Indonesia.
Asep expressed his hope that the dedication and effort shown by each participant would extend beyond this tournament, encouraging them to pursue further development through soccer academies.
“We certainly hope that the hard work doesn’t end with this tournament. Those girls who are eager to hone their soccer skills can continue their journey by joining soccer schools (SSBs),” Asep concluded.
The MilkLife Soccer Challenge continues to establish itself as a key event in fostering youth soccer talent in Indonesia, empowering young girls to pursue their passion for the sport and paving the way for future success on both the national and international stages.
