The Nursalam version of Indonesia Premier League (IPL) side Arema Indonesia announced on Thursday that its management has stepped down due to lack of funds from investor PT Setia Bina Nusa (SBN).
Speaking to Goal.com Indonesia, Arema spokesperson Aang Kurniawan said: “From now on, PT Setia Bina Nusa (SBN) is no longer in charge of [Nursalam's] Arema (IPL). If there is any Arema team playing in IPL, that is not us and it might be from the Winarso faction.”
Arema is currently split into two teams with the other side coming under Winarso, who has previously claimed ownership of the club and also registered 18 players for the Premier League in January.
The two factions have been training under different management and officials, with Winarso’s side under Abdurrahman Gurning while the Nursalam Arema (IPL) team trained with coach Dejan Antonic.
Aang added that SBN had made known its intention to pull-out from Arema on February 1.
“The letter (to Winarso) indicates our decision to step down from PT Arema Indonesia’s [Arema IPL] management as purely a business decision. It has nothing to do with the dualism in the league,” a statement read.
“According to investor[s], all this while playing in the IPL has not reaped any financial benefits to us and instead, last year we experienced a loss rather than profits.”
Nursalam's Arema IPL currently have 18 players contracted for the upcoming league season, with several top players such as former Singapore international Noh Alam Shah, Roman Chmelo and Marko Krasic amongst them.
“SBN will be responsible and committed towards the officials and players contract but if there is any offer from other clubs, they are more than welcome to make a move there,” Aang stressed.
With the dissolution of Nursalam's Arema IPL, the future of Arema IPL under Winarso is also unclear as both teams are under the same investor, Ancora.
Attempts to contact Noh Alam Shah have been unsuccessful but the striker has previously indicated that he would only play for Tampines Rovers in the S.League.
