Persebaya Surabaya

Two men, Paijo and M. Pamoedji, put their names to a football association in Surabaya under Dutch colonial rule and called it Soerabaiasche Indonesische Voetbal Bond. The date was 18 June 1927. The name changed twice as the country did: Persibaja in 1943, then in 1960 the shortened form that stuck, Persebaya.

What the club won first, it won in a row. Perserikatan titles in 1950, 1951 and 1952 came in the years immediately after independence.

The rivalry that fills the ground now is the Super East Java Derby against Arema FC. Madura United, across the strait, gives the calendar a second one.

Relegation to the second tier meant Persebaya spent 2017 winning Liga 2 to climb back. The Bajul Ijo — the Green Crocodiles, in green shirts with yellow at the seams — had four Liga Indonesia championships behind them by then, the last in 2013.

Home is Gelora Bung Tomo in Benowo, on the western edge of the city, rebuilt across 2019 and 2020 after years at Gelora 10 November. The Piala Presiden went to Surabaya this August, beating Penang FC in the final.

The rebuilt stadium holds 46,806.