Sepak!: from Liga Cetak to A–Z Gila Bola
by Arlenea Herdimansyah
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Liga Cetak is a mini soccer tournament by our sister unit Double Happiness. Held from the 4th to the 5th of July, 2026, at The Forum, Bintaro Jakarta Selatan, this event brings together Indonesia's creative industry for the weekend through a hearty game of football.
Liga Cetak reimagines mini soccer as a platform where creative communities can meet outside their everyday practice, creating opportunities for new conversations, relationships, and collaboration. Much like the creative process itself, the game is built on collaboration, strategy, instinct, and teamwork. Publishers, record labels, screen-printing studios, design studios, and independent creative collectives come together, not only to compete, but to connect through a shared experience. By bringing Indonesia's creative practitioners onto the same field, Liga Cetak creates a space where friendly competition leads to lasting relationships, new ideas, and a stronger creative ecosystem.
As a city, Jakarta has always been a melting pot of ideas, cultures, and communities. Liga Cetak was born from the belief that the people shaping Indonesia's creative landscape deserve a different kind of meeting point—one that moves beyond exhibitions, networking events, or creative showcases. Instead of gathering behind their work, they gather on the pitch, united by the simple objective of scoring goals together.
The experience extends well beyond the tournament itself. Alongside the matches, Liga Cetak features a curated pop-up marketplace where participating communities showcase and sell their work. Independent publications, music releases, merchandise, printed matter, and other creative products transform the venue into a space where sport, culture, and creativity coexist, allowing visitors to discover the diverse practices that define Indonesia's creative ecosystem.
For its first edition, Liga Cetak brought together eight teams from across Indonesia's creative ecosystem: Binatang Press, Halftime Speech, XGraphics, Kamengski, Lamunai Records, Kolibri Records, The Soccer Tribune, and Cipsi Craff. Each team represented a different creative discipline, proving that while their practices may differ, the spirit of collaboration can begin with something as simple as a game of football.
The choice of The Forum plays an important role in shaping this experience. Known as a hub for sports, communities, and creative activities, the venue provides a natural setting where competition and cultural exchange can happen simultaneously. We see that Liga Cetak has become a catalyst for conversation, collaboration, and community.
For Double Happiness, football extends beyond sport. It is a ground to foster collaboration, strengthen the sense of camaraderie, and refine instinct. Liga Cetak reflects Double Happiness' ongoing commitment to creating a platform that brings people together through shared interests, cultures, and collective experiences. Double Happiness believes meaningful collaboration rarely begins in meeting rooms: they emerge through genuine human connection.
Football extends beyond the football field. More than a sport, it is a manifestation of many people's passion and sits at the heart of their nostalgia. As big as the football field is, it cannot contain the immense love football fans harbor for this sport. Football bleeds into everyday conversation in multiple ways: many musicians have captured their spirit in songs, many news outlets have dedicated themselves to the sport, and many movies have tried to depict it in all its glories.
Books are no exception. In 2023, Binatang Press and the media company The Soccer Tribune collaborated on a football-themed book titled Sepak! #01: A–Z Gila Bola 90an. This book encapsulates sheer football nostalgia through the A–Z of famous football players, prominent teams, and the iconic moments of the 90s era, completed with colorful illustrations and a fun crossword puzzle. It was released in Blok M's Space 9, starring musical guests Namoy Budaya, Zip's vocalist Jan, and Adhit Zaki. It was also featured in Shukyu Magazine, a publication dedicated to highlighting football from the perspectives of society and culture. Shukyu featured The Soccer Tribune in its Asia Issue 11 of 2024 for its perspectives on football activity in Indonesia.
Coming Soon!
Due to the warm reception this book got in Japan, we finally decided to reprint Sepak! #01: A–Z Gila Bola 90an in a bilingual format. You will see the Japanese translation sitting beside the original Bahasa script. We're so excited to embark on the journey this Japanese edition will bring.