The Campus League is expanding its competition territory to Kalimantan by designating Samarinda as the Kalimantan Region for Campus League Season 1 2026, as an effort to encourage equal access to student sports competitions outside Java.
Samarinda's inclusion makes it the only host city outside of Java for the inaugural Campus League season. Besides Samarinda, the competition will also be held in five cities on the island of Java: Jakarta, Bandung, Yogyakarta, Semarang, and Surabaya.
"If the competition were centered only in Java, there would be significant obstacles for students in the regions, both in terms of travel costs and opportunities to compete. Therefore, since the first season, we have chosen to expand our reach," said Campus League CEO Ryan Gozali in an official statement.
In Season 1, the Campus League featured three sports: basketball, badminton, and futsal. Samarinda is scheduled to host all of these sports and will open the season with basketball in April 2026.
Ryan revealed that East Kalimantan has great potential for student athletes, but this has not been fully accommodated by national competitions.
By presenting the Kalimantan Region, the Campus League hopes that student-athlete development can be more evenly distributed from the campus level.
The Kalimantan Regional Campus League is supported by Bayan Group through Bayan Peduli. This support aligns with Bayan Group's commitment to providing sustainable contributions to human resource and sports development in Kalimantan.
As part of its season preparations, the Campus League held its first-ever Campus Connection in Samarinda. This pre-season event brought organizers together with universities, campus communities, and sports stakeholders in East Kalimantan.
Around 30 students from 12 universities in East Kalimantan attended the event, including campus representatives from Balikpapan who traveled around 100 kilometers to Samarinda.
Campus League views campus sports not only as a competitive arena, but also as a means of building student character through three pillars, namely academics, fitness (athleticism), and empathy (affinity).
