Persija Jakarta announced that they have appointed their former legendary player, Bambang Pamungkas, to serve as sports director.
This was announced by Persija Director, Mohamad Prapanca, at the Ngopi with Persija event at Persija Cafe, Jakarta, Thursday.
"The sporting director's job is to oversee everything. Under him are the technical director and the Chief of Academy. So, Bepe (Bambang Pamungkas) summarizes everyone's needs," said Prapanca.
Bambang previously served as Persija manager for two terms. The first was from 2020 to 2022, and the second was from 2024 to 2025. This season, the Persija managerial position was again handed over to Ardhi Tjahjoko.
The figure who is familiar with the number 20 jersey also said that the role of sports director is actually nothing new, because when he served as manager, he was also entrusted with this role.
"Perhaps my responsibility is to align the club's vision and mission with the coach's needs and desires. That's what started yesterday. Mr. Panca, Mr. Ardhi, and I discussed the selection of the coach and what facilities the coach would like," said Bambang.
Bambang emphasized that Persija is a club with a strong commitment to youth development. Therefore, the operations of the senior team or main squad must align with the club's vision and mission.
In the 2025/2026 BRI Super League, Persija brought in a significant number of foreign players. A total of nine new foreign players from Brazil were recruited by Persija.
However, the club nicknamed the Kemayoran Tigers also registered many of its young players. Although only Arlyansyah Abdulmanan and Alfriyanto Nico had played until the fourth matchday, Persija registered a total of 14 academy players for this season's competition.
