Football, Celebrities and Trends in Acquisition of Indonesian League Clubs from the Business Law Perspective

The Indonesian Football League—which has been frozen and suspended due to the actions of the soccer mafia—slowly began to rise with the emergence of a number of famous celebrities hunting for Division II and III clubs.

One of the most talked about celebrity acts in the world of national football lately is the acquisition of Cilegon United FC by Raffi Ahmad in March 2021. With a total dowry of IDR 800 billion, the owner of Rans Entertainment changed the club's name to Rans Cilegon FC.

Raffi's popularity and his jumbo capital injection indirectly had a positive impact on Rans Cilegon's performance in Liga 2 and successfully promoted to League 1 starting next season. Following Raffi Ahmad's effort to bring Brazilian football player Ronaldinho to Indonesia, the rumor about Rans Cilegon appears to be spreading more widely.

The son of the president of the Republic of Indonesia, Kaesang Pangarep, and YouTuber Atta Haliintar then joined Raffi in the search for professional football clubs.
Atta successfully acquired PSG Pati, which later changed its name to AHHA PS Pati FC. Meanwhile, Joko Widodo's son managed to get Persis Solo.

The latest news comes from the beautiful actress Prilly Latuconsina, who is reportedly interested in acquiring Persikota Tangerang, which is currently competing in the Indonesian 3rd League.

You and I may be wondering, what is the appeal of investing in mediocre clubs amid the issue of setting Indonesian football scores which have not been completely eradicated by PSSI?

Or, maybe many are still confused, how do celebrities acquire national football clubs? Is the process the same as the acquisition of a company in the form of a Limited Liability Company or is there special treatment for football clubs?

Acquisition Procedure

I will not go too deep into the technicalities of football because I am not an expert. I will focus more on the legality of football clubs and the acquisition process.

For information, the international football federation or the Federation de Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) 2004 required all professional football clubs to have clear legality or have legal entities.
The rules were later adopted by the FIFA Executive Committee on 29 October 2007 and came into force on 1 January 2008.

The FIFA regulation basically instructs every football federation of every country in the world to manage clubs in a professional, transparent and legally accountable manner.

Based on the FIFA instruction, PSSI as the national football authority has also instructed all football clubs in Indonesia to form a legal entity. The choice can be in the form of a Limited Liability Company (PT), a foundation, or a cooperative.

It is interesting to note that the legal entity form chosen by most professional sports clubs in Indonesia is PT. Therefore, these clubs are not only obliged to comply with the provisions of PSSI but also Law number 40 of 2007 concerning Limited Liability Companies. Including in the event of the acquisition or transfer of ownership of the club involving the celebrities aforementioned.

Acquisition or takeover is a legal act conducted by a legal entity or individual to take over the ownership of company shares which results in the transfer of control over the company.

Through the acquisition process, the football club which was previously owned by the old shareholders will be replaced by new shareholders as the majority shareholder and have the right to control the club like a company.

Simply stated, the stages of the Company's acquisition process are as follows:

• Enter into agreements and negotiations directly between the parties who will take over and the shareholders while still paying attention to the articles of association of the company that is taken over.
• Announce the planned takeover agreement with the terms
• Announced in at least 1 (one) newspaper;
• Announce in writing to the employees of the company;
• The 30-day notice must be given before the call for the General Meeting of Shareholders (GMS)
• File objections from creditors (if any)
• The company takeover agreement can be stated in the agreement deed for the takeover
• A copy of the deed of transfer of rights of shares is attached to the submission of a notification to the Minister regarding changes in the composition of shareholders
• Announce the results of the takeover in one or more newspapers within 30 days from the effective date of the takeover

Those are all general descriptions of the stages of acquisition as regulated in the Limited Liability Company Law. This means that anyone can acquire a football club like a company, not only celebrities like Raffi Ahmad and Atta Halilintar. With a note, they have the capital and understand the rights and obligations arising from this corporate action.

Also, before taking over a company or sports club, make sure you study the governance and performance of the company. Do not just jump on the bandwagon because it is like buying a pig in a poke.

Regardless of profit or loss, the trend of acquiring football clubs by public figures has at least succeeded in blurring the bad image of Indonesian football.

Hopefully, the capital injection from celebrities will not only be successful in branding the club and themselves but also can have a positive impact on the progress of Indonesian football which is underachieved and subject to harsh criticism. Hopefully.

Disclaimer! This article is a personal opinion and does not reflect the policies of the institution where the author works.