Liga Nusantara

Liga Nusantara (English: Archipelago League), officially known as PNM Liga Nusantara for sponsorship reasons, is the third-tier of the football competition system in Indonesia, organized by the Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI).^[1] The competition started in 2014 after PSSI merged the previous competitions, Liga Indonesia Second Division and Liga Indonesia Third Division. The competition was previously organized in two phases, with the provincial phase operated by PSSI Provincial Associations, where each province held its own regional competition, followed by the national phase operated by PSSI, where the top teams from each province competed at the national level.

Liga Nusantara

Organising body	PSSI (2014–2024) I-League (2024–present)
Founded	1994; 31 years ago (1994) (as Divisi Dua Liga Indonesia in 3rd tier) 2008; 17 years ago (2008) (as Divisi Satu Liga Indonesia in 3rd tier) 2014; 11 years ago (2014) (as Liga Nusantara in 4th tier) 2016; 9 years ago (2016) (as ISC Liga Nusantara) (Unofficial Competition) 2017; 8 years ago (2017) (as Liga 3) 2024; 1 year ago (2024) (as Liga Nusantara in 3rd tier)
Country	Indonesia
Confederation	AFC
Number of clubs	24
Level on pyramid	3
Promotion to	Championship
Relegation to	Liga 4
Domestic cup(s)	Piala Indonesia
Current champions	Sumut United 1st Liga Nusantara title 2nd third-tier title (2024–25)
Most championships	Sumut United Persik Kediri (2 titles)
Broadcaster(s)	Terrestrial: NTV TVRI (play-offs round only) Streaming: YouTube
Sponsor(s)	PNM
Website	Official website
Current: 2025–26 Liga Nusantara

Starting from the 2024–25 season, the competition is organized on a national level with teams divided into several groups based on geographical factors and is now operated by I-League.

History

The competition was established after Liga Indonesia Second Division and Liga Indonesia Third Division merged in 2014. Starting in 2015, the Liga Indonesia First Division was also merged with Liga Nusantara to become the third-tier level in Indonesian football system.^[1] Persatu Tuban won the competition's first season.^[2]

In 2017, Liga Nusantara was renamed to Liga 3, along with Indonesian Super League and Indonesian Premier Division which were renamed to Liga 1 and Liga 2, respectively.^[3]

In 2024, Liga 3 was renamed back to the Liga Nusantara, along with the establishment of Liga 4 as fourth-tier level. Liga Nusantara was elevated to a semi-professional level after previously being at the amateur level.^[4]

Format

Old format

Provincial phase

Each province held a provincial phase, they were followed by amateur clubs without a limit of participants with different competition formats, the difference in the format was due to the different number of participants in each province. Furthermore, the teams that qualified from the provincial phase competed in national phase.

National phase

A total of 80 teams entered this phase.

• First round: 80 teams were divided into sixteen groups of 5. Each group was played on a home tournament basis. Winner and runner-up of each group advanced to the second round.
• Second round: 32 teams which were the winners and runners-up from each group of the first round. They were divided into eight groups of 4 and each winner and runner-up advanced to the third round.
• Third round: 16 teams were divided into two groups. Each group was played on a home tournament basis. Same as previous round, the winner and runner-up of each group advanced to the fourth round.
• Fourth round: 8 teams were divided into two groups. The three best teams of each group were promoted to the Liga 2. The winner of each group also advanced to the final.
• Final: The 2 group winners from the fourth round played in the final match. The final was played as a single match.

New format

2024–25 season

The league format was announced on 7 November 2024. There was no provincial or national phase. Instead, there were four rounds:^[5]

• Regular round: 16 teams were divided into two group of eight, with the round being played in a centralized format of double round-robin matches. The top three teams of each group qualified for the championship round, while the remaining teams qualified for the relegation play-offs.
• Relegation play-offs: 10 teams were divided into two groups of five teams, with the round being played in a centralized format of single round-robin matches. The bottom three teams of each group were relegated to the 2025–26 Liga 4.
• Championship round: 6 teams were divided into two groups of three teams, with the round being played in home-and-away round-robin matches. The group winners advanced to the final and promoted to the 2025–26 Liga 2. The group runners-up entered to the promotion play-off.
• Promotion play-off & Final: The play-off and final were played as a single match. If tied after regulation time, it went to extra time and a penalty shoot-out to decide the winning team if necessary. The winner of the play-off match was promoted to the 2025–26 Liga 2, while the winner of the final match was crowned as champions.

2025–26 season

To be announced.

Teams

Current participating teams

The following 24 clubs will compete in the Liga Nusantara during 2025–26 season.

Team	Location	2024–25 position	Year joined	Seasons in LN	First season in D3	Seasons in D3	Current spell in D3	Last spell in CH	Former names	Other leagues
Batavia	South Jakarta	3rd in NP R4 Group B (Liga 4)	2017	8	2017	8	2025–	—	—	—
Dejan	Depok	3rd in RL Group I (Liga 2)	2022–23	3	2022–23	3	2025–	2024–2025	—	—
Gresik United	Gresik	4th in RL Group J (Liga 2)	2006	4	2019	4	2025–	2022–2025	—	—
Nusantara United	Boyolali	3rd in RL Group H (Liga 2)	2021	2	2021–22	2	2025–	2022–2025	[Note NUS]	—
Pekanbaru	Pekanbaru	2nd in NP R4 Group B (Liga 4)	2024–25	1	2025–26	1	2025–	—	—	—
Persebata	Lembata	2nd in NP R4 Group A (Liga 4)	1999	8	2017	8	2025–	—	—	—
Perseden	Denpasar	3rd in NP R4 Group A (Liga 4)	1994–95	8	2013	12	2025–	—	—	[u 1]
Persekabpas	Pasuruan	3rd in CH Group X	1994–95	9	2009–10	16	2017–	2008–2009	—	[b 1]
Perserang	Serang	2nd in RL Group K	1994–95	2	2011–12	6	2024–	2015–2024	—	[b 1]
Persewar	Waropen	5th in RL Group J (Liga 2)	2005	3	2011–12	8	2025–	2019–2025	—	[b 1]
Persiba Bantul	Bantul	1st in RL Group J	1994–95	8	2018	8	2018–	2015–2017	—	—
Persibo	Bojonegoro	Relegation PO loser (Liga 2)	2002	8	2017	8	2025–	2024–2025	—	—
Persika Karanganyar	Karanganyar	NP Runner-up (Liga 4)	2006	4	2021–22	4	2025–	—	—	—
Persikabo 1973	Bogor	4th in RL Group I (Liga 2)	2016	1	2025–26	1	2025–	2024–2025	[Note PBO]	—
Persikota	Tangerang	4th in RL Group H (Liga 2)	1994–95	8	2014	11	2025–	2024–2025	—	[u 1]
Persikutim United	East Kutai	3rd in CH Group Y	2018	8	2018	8	2018–	—	[Note KTM]	—
Persipa	Pati	4th in RL Group K (Liga 2)	1994–95	6	2010	12	2025–	2022–2025	—	[b 1][u 1]
Persitara	North Jakarta	4th in NP R4 Group A (Liga 4)	1994–95	8	2015	10	2025–	2010–2014	—	—
PSDS	Deli Serdang	2nd in RL Group J	1994–95	7	2011–12	12	2024–	2022–2024	—	—
PSGC	Ciamis	Promotion play-off loser	1994–95	7	2011–12	9	2020–	2019	—	[b 1]
RANS Nusantara	Batu	5th in RL Group K (Liga 2)	2013	2	2014	2	2025–	2024–2025	[Note RNS]	—
Sang Maestro	Surabaya	4th in NP R4 Group B (Liga 4)	2018	7	2018	7	2025–	—	—	—
Tri Brata Rafflesia	Bengkulu	NP Champions (Liga 4)	2021—22	4	2021–22	4	2025–	—	—	—
Waanal Brothers	Mimika	1st in RL Group K	2022–23	4	2022–23	4	2022–	—	—	—

	Recently relegated from Championship
	Recently promoted from Liga 4

• "Year joined" is the year the club joined the Liga Indonesia, including leagues that are divisionally below it and counted since 1994–95 season.
• "First season in D3" and "Seasons in D3" counted since First Division dropped down to third-tier and also including of LPIS First Division during dualism era (2011–2012) and ISC Liga Nusantara in 2016 season.
• "Seasons in LN" and "Current spell in D3" counted since the third-tier league was renamed as Liga 3 and later changed to Liga Nusantara.
• "Last spell in CH" counted since Premier Division dropped down to second-tier (now Championship), including LPIS Premier Division during dualism era (2011–2013) and ISC B in 2016 season.

Former names

1. ^
   Nusantara United (NUS): previously as Mataram Utama.
2. ^
   Persikabo 1973 (PBO): previously as PS TNI.
3. ^
   Persikutim (KTM): previously as Sumbersari FC.
4. ^
   RANS Nusantara (RNS): previously as Cilegon United.

Breakaway league

1. 2011–12 First Division (LPIS)

Unofficial league

1. 2016 ISC Liga Nusantara

Former teams

The following clubs competed in the Liga Nusantara since 2024–25 season, but are not competing in the 2025–26 season.

Team	Year joined	Seasons in LN	Location	First season in D3	Seasons in D3	Last spell in D3	Current league	Former names
757 Kepri Jaya	2008–09	7	Batam	2013	7	2018–2025	Liga 4	[Note 757]
Kalteng Putra	2001	1	Palangka Raya	2008–09	4	2024–2025	N/A	—
Kendal Tornado	2018	7	Kendal	2018	7	2018–2025	Championship	[Note TRD]
Persiba Balikpapan	1994–95	1	Balikpapan	2024–25	1	2024–2025	Championship	—
Persikab	1994–95	6	Bandung	2016	8	2024–2025	Liga 4	—
Persikad	2019	4	Depok	2019	4	2024–2025	Championship	[Note PKD]
Persipani	1994–95	8	Paniai	2011–12	13	2011–2025	Liga 4	—
Persipasi	2017	8	Bekasi	2017	8	2017–2025	Liga 4	[Note PSI]
PSCS	1994–95	2	Cilacap	2009–10	3	2024–2025	Liga 4	—
PSM Madiun	1994–95	7	Madiun	2018	7	2018–2025	Liga 4	—
Sulut United	2017	2	Manado	2018	2	2024–2025	N/A	[Note SUL]

	Recently promoted to Championship
	Recently relegated to Liga 4

• "Year joined" is the year the club joined the Liga Indonesia, including leagues that are divisionally below it and counted since 1994–95 season.
• "First season in D3" and "Seasons in D3" counted since First Division dropped down to third-tier and also including of LPIS First Division during dualism era (2011–2013) and ISC Liga Nusantara.
• "Season in LN" and "Last spell in D3" counted since the third-tier league was renamed as Liga 3 and later changed to Liga Nusantara.

Former names

1. ^
   757 Kepri Jaya (757): previously as Bintang Jaya Asahan.
2. ^
   Kendal Tornado(TRD): previously as Tornado Pekanbaru.
3. ^
   Persikad (PKD): previously as Karo United.
4. ^
   Persipasi (PSI): previously as Patriot Candrabhaga.
5. ^
   Sulut United (SUL): previously as Bogor Football Club.

Maps

PSDS

Tri Brata Rafflesia

Pekanbaru

Perseden

Persikutim United

Persebata

Waanal Brothers

Persewar

Locations of teams in the 2025–26 Liga Nusantara.

Batavia

Persitara

Locations of teams in the 2025–26 Liga Nusantara from Jakarta.

Perserang

Persikota

Jakarta

Dejan

Persikabo

PSGC

Persipa

Nusantara United

Persika

Persiba

Persibo

RANS Nusantara

Gresik United

Sang Maestro

Persekabpas

Jakarta teams
Batavia
Persitara

Locations of teams in the 2025–26 Liga Nusantara from Java region.

Championship history

See also: List of winners of the Liga Nusantara and predecessors

Old format

One-off final

Season	League name	Champions	Score	Runners-up
2014	Liga Nusantara	Persatu Tuban	2–1	Laga
2015		Season abandoned due to FIFA suspension of Indonesia
2017	Liga 3	Blitar United	2–1	Persik Kendal
2019		Persijap Jepara	3–1	PSKC Cimahi
2020		Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia
2021–22		Karo United	3–3 (4–2 p)	Putra Delta Sidoarjo
2022–23		Season abandoned after Kanjuruhan Stadium disaster
2023–24		Adhyaksa Farmel	3–2 (a.e.t.)	Persibo Bojonegoro

Two-legged final

Season	League name	Home team	Score	Away team
2018	Liga 3	Persik Kediri	3–1	PSCS Cilacap
		PSCS Cilacap	1–0	Persik Kediri
		Persik Kediri won 3–2 on aggregate

New format

Season	League name	Champions	Score	Runners-up
2024–25	Liga Nusantara	Sumut United	4–1	Tornado

Promotion history

Old format

Season	Promoted teams	Total
2014	Persatu Tuban Laga Perssu Sumenep PS Badung Perserang Serang Persibas Banyumas	6
2017	Blitar United Persik Kendal Aceh United	3
2018	Persik Kediri PSCS Cilacap Persatu Tuban PSGC Ciamis Persewar Waropen Bogor	6
2019	Persijap Jepara PSKC Cimahi Tiga Naga Persekat Tegal Putra Sinar Giri Semeru	6
2021–22	Karo United Putra Delta Sidoarjo PSDS Deli Serdang Mataram Utama Deltras Persikab Bandung Persipa Pati Gresik United	8
2023–24	Adhyaksa Farmel Persibo Bojonegoro Dejan Persikota Tangerang Persiku Kudus Persikas Subang	6

New format

Season	Champions	Runners-up	Third place
2024–25	Sumut United	Tornado	Persiba Balikpapan

Relegation history

Season	Relegated teams	Total
2024–25	Kalteng Putra (withdrew) Sulut United (withdrew) Persipani Paniai (disqualified) 757 Kepri Jaya Persikab Bandung PCB Persipasi PSCS Cilacap PSM Madiun	8

Awards

Best players

Season	Player	Club
2014	Edi Winarno[6]	Persatu Tuban
2017	Assanur Rijal	Aceh United
2018	Galih Akbar	Persik Kediri
2019	Rizki Hidayat	Persijap Jepara
2021–22	Rian Ramadan	Karo United
2023–24	Sehabudin Ahmad	Adhyaksa Farmel
2024–25	Yanuar Baehaki	Tornado

Top scorers

Season	Top scorer	Club	Goals
2014	Imam Bagus Kurnia	Laga	4
2017	Arianto	Aceh United	7
2018	Septian Bagaskara	Persik Kediri	21
2019	Rikza Syawali	PSKC Cimahi	9
2021–22	Adam Malik	Putra Delta Sidoarjo	11
2023–24	Andi Sopian	Dejan	9
2024–25	Ali Mashori	Persekabpas Pasuruan	14

Fair play awards

Season	Club
2018	Persik Kediri
2019	PSKC Cimahi
2021–22	Mataram Utama
2023–24	Dejan
2024–25	Not awarded

Title sponsors

Period	Sponsor(s)	Brand	Ref.
2014	No sponsor	Liga Nusantara	–
2017–2024		Liga 3	–
2024–present	PNM	PNM Liga Nusantara

See also

• Indonesian football league system
• Super League
• Championship
• Liga 4
• Piala Indonesia