Football System: Classic Number 10
Chapter 137: The First I-LEAGUE

There has been a slight change of system from the I-LEAGUE this season, according to the chairman of FSI now it feels that the I-LEAGUE system that has been used since the first Indonesian league was rolled out has begun to be outdated enough so that it must be updated to be fresher.

This I-LEAGUE system follows the systems of the top European leagues such as the English, Italian or Spanish leagues. Each team will play 38 matches divided into two sessions, the first session at the beginning of the season until the middle of the season, then the second session at the beginning of winter until the last game.

Take the English Premier League system for example. In the highest caste of the English league there are 20 teams that will play 38 games, so each team in total will make 380 games in one season. At the end of the season there will be relegation if there are teams entering the relegation zone, usually the relegation zone is around the last 3 positions, namely 18th, 19th and 20th positions. The relegated will go down to the second-tier league, where they will be replaced by the second-tier and second-placed champions, and there is also a winner from the play-offs.

After a long time using that system, the FSI will make changes to the league system for the I-LEAGUE this season, the league format will still apply full round robin matches but later the league winner will not be immediately determined from the top of the league standings. The winner of the league will be decided by another play-off match. There will be four teams that will follow this play-off, from positions 1 to 4. Position 1 will play with position 3, and position 2 will compete with position 4. Teams in 1st and 2nd place will get the right to host in this play-off phase.

Later I-LEAGUE will also change its name to Indonesia Premier League, which will be followed by 18 clubs later. With the new system format and a new atmosphere, FSI hopes the league will be more competitive later.

Rizaldi is looking forward to his debut in Indonesia Premier League, he trained with great enthusiasm today and trying to get attention from Coach Giovanni so that he can be used as an option for the opening match later.

Cananga FC will host the team from East Java, Singosari FC in the opening match of Indonesia Premier League aka IPL. The match will be on Sunday, 2 days after today so Rizaldi can't wait for that day to come.

Rizaldi finished training very well and so excited, many senior Cananga Mining players were amazed by the spirit possessed by Rizaldi Fatah, especially when they found out how young Rizaldi Fatah was.

What was done by Rizaldi Fatah in the Indonesian Super Cup match also made them all so pay more attention to the figure of Rizaldi Fatah, he said, they may think there is a talented young figure near them and they will help him with all their abilities.

Just like Ednilson Silva did, he still remembers how sweet the pass given by Rizaldi on him that managed to make him score a brace in the match against Bandung Tigerra FC at that time. Thanks to the bait, Pengambangan Cananga FC managed to secure their victory and managed to become Indonesia Super Cup champion.

Ednilson Silva taught Rizaldi Fatah some things about the style of play from his native Brazil, and also what kind of ball he likes. Rizaldi is a bit more understanding of Ednilson Silva, and that makes him gain valuable knowledge in the game.

"Hey Rizaldi, how was your training with Ednilson Silva?" Adam Sala approached Rizaldi Fatah.

Rizaldi was immediately respectful in front of Adam Sala, especially Adam Sala is a captain in the Cananga FC Mining which he must respect. "Everything went well, captain!" rizaldi said with a little excitement.

Adam Sala laughed. "It looks like you can't wait for Sunday's game, Rizaldi?"

"Obviously captain!"

"Good!" adam Sala said as he slightly ruffled Rizaldi's hair. "Keep that spirit of yours until the day of the game!"

After that Adam Sala returned to his place, while Rizaldi resumed his training with Ednilson Silva. Fortunately Ednilson Silva was getting used to the Indonesian language, so he more or less understood what was said by Rizaldi although still little by little.

Sunday came so quickly, now the Cananga Stadium which is the headquarters of the Cananga FC Mining team has begun to be crowded by their loyal supporters and also some supporters of Singosari FC.

On the bleachers there is also Rizaldi's mother and also her sister, Keisha who will watch her brother in action today. Today Rizaldi's mother is on holiday so she prefers to watch live to the stadium rather than having to watch from the television broadcast.

"We're sitting here auntie!" salma said showing their seats.

"The food inside was delicious, such is the hospitality service for VIP ticket buyers?"

"That's very true Keisha, if we buy VIP tickets then we will be given such hospitality earlier, he said, maybe after this match we can meet with your brother if your brother becomes the best player in the match today" Salma explained the friendly VIP guest to Keisha.

This is the first time Keisha and her mother watched Rizaldi play in a stadium of this size, when Rizaldi was still playing in the Youth Division, they only watch in smaller stadiums that are usually used for first-team training. The matter of hospitality was not in the stadium before, so Keisha seemed a little surprised by it.

The three of them had already sat down at their place, staying for a while longer before kick-off even began. Keisha's eyes could see clearly towards the field, maybe he could also see clearly his brother who would play on the field.

Both teams began to look out of the tunnel, all supporters from both teams shouted excitedly welcoming players from their respective favorite teams. Keisha, his mother and Salma also joined the scene, but their eyes tried to look to one of the 11 players of Cananga FC Mining on the field. They were looking for Rizaldi Fatah.

"Abang isn't there ma, brother where is ma?" Keisha immediately panicked to see that there was no brother among the eleven players.

"Mama doesn't know the deck either, your brother said he'll play later today"

"Maybe it's on the bench!" Salma tried to be more positive, he was immediately stared at by Keisha who thought his brother should play early, not sit on the bench.

And sure enough, the name Rizaldi Fatah is included in the bench list. Keisha was of course disappointed even he yelled out loudly at the Cananga Mining coach, calling him an incompetent coach. What was done by Keisha was immediately in the spotlight of everyone, all eyes were immediately on the figure of Keisha.

Salma hurriedly closed Keisha's increasingly uncontrolled mouth, smiling sideways and nodding her head to apologize to the other audience for Keisha's horrendous actions. While her mother could only laugh sweetly at what her daughter was doing, she remained focused on looking at the match before her eyes at this moment, because this might be the first and last time he could see his son playing live.