Tigers Football Academy and Arema FC Women Share Titles in Two Age Categories

The HYDROPLUS Soccer League Surabaya 2026 competition held at Bogowonto Football Field on Saturday (5/23) has been successfully concluded. Tigers Football Academy emerged as the U-18 champion. Meanwhile, at the U-15 level, Arema FC Women topped the final standings in the youth women's football development event initiated by the Djarum Foundation's Bakti Olahraga in collaboration with HYDROPLUS.

The commitment and seriousness of the participating teams in the HYDROPLUS Soccer League in Surabaya have become increasingly evident throughout this season. The youth women's soccer competition is not only a platform for matches but also an indicator of the increasing development at the club level.

Program Director of the HYDROPLUS Soccer League, Teddy Tjahjono, stated that the development of women's soccer, especially in Surabaya, is closely linked to the intensity of matches regularly played by the players. With a match schedule every one to two weeks, the players have the opportunity to continuously hone their skills thru consistent training for months.

"Hydroplus Soccer League is indeed presented as part of the roadmap for the sustainable development of women's football, as it is still an advanced stage of the MilkLife Soccer Challenge, which competes in the lower age categories." The quality of their gameplay and competitive mentality can be honed as their hours on the field increase. They compete every one or two weeks, and in between, they continue to train for nine to ten months. So naturally, the quality of their game will definitely improve," he said.

He also expressed appreciation to Arema FC Women and Tigers Football Academy for successfully representing the Surabaya Region in the national round of the HYDROPLUS Soccer League. The two teams are scheduled to compete in the national round, which will take place from July 5 to 12, along with six other teams from three different regions.

"Congratulations to Arema FC Women and Tiger FC Academy who will represent the Surabaya Region in the national round. They will compete against six teams from three other regions," he said.

Furthermore, the HYDROPLUS Soccer League All-Stars event will also play an important role in the player selection process for the Indonesian U-16 Women's National Team. The best players will be monitored to be prepared for the Srikandi Merdeka Cup tournament scheduled to take place next August.

Group Brand Head of HYDROPLUS, Yose Moriza, stated that the Hydroplus Soccer League serves as a platform for young female footballers to continue developing themselves and gaining competitive experience.

Yose also appreciated the efforts of all the participants throughout the tournament and advised the players to continue honing their skills because their journey is still long.

"Hydroplus Soccer League is a platform for young female footballers to hone and improve their skills." This competition is expected to be a space for the emergence of potential young talents. Congratulations to the champions, but don't get complacent because the journey is still long. For those who have not yet achieved maximum results, don't lose heart, keep being active in sports," said Yose.

Meanwhile, the Head of the Youth and Sports Office of East Java Province, Hadi Wawan Guntoro, expressed appreciation for the organization of the HYDROPLUS Soccer League, which is considered capable of reviving the spirit of developing young female football in the region. He hopes that the competition can serve as a platform for the emergence of potential athletes who will later strengthen the Indonesian national team, especially from East Java.

"Our hope is that from this competition, future national athletes from East Java can emerge." I also hope that the development program for women's football can continue sustainably, providing space for young players to grow. God willing, East Java is ready to continue being a venue as well as a center for nurturing athletes, especially in women's football," he concluded.

Tigers Football Academy and Arema FC Women Dominate the Top Competition Tigers Football Academy managed to emerge as champions after showing consistent performance throughout the competition. The team successfully ended the season with a collection of 31 points and secured the top position in the standings, ahead of their closest rival, Arema FC Women, with 28 points.

The success of Tigers Football Academy was not achieved easily. From the beginning of the competition, they had to compete closely with Arema FC Women, who kept up in the race for the top position. The rivalry between the two teams has become the main focus because both have performed impressively and shown consistent game quality.

Tigers Football Academy is able to maintain consistency thanks to solid game organization, a disciplined defense line, and effectiveness in capitalizing on opportunities, as seen in their last match against Putri Meta, which they successfully won 4-1.

In the match, Tigers Football Academy immediately dominated the game from the start of the first half. Although some of their attacks did not yield results, Haviva Oktaditya eventually changed the situation by scoring a goal in the 19th minute. The score changed to 1-0 in favor of Tigers Football Academy.

In the second half, Tigers Football Academy became increasingly confident in securing victory in the match. As a result, Haviva Oktaditya managed to score her second goal in the 36th minute thanks to a sweet pass from her teammate and twin sister, Havivi Oktaditya. In fact, Rara Anindita extended her team's lead to 3-0 after a solo run from the left side was successfully completed in the 44th minute.

Putri Meta tried to bounce back and created several dangerous opportunities in front of the Tigers Football Academy goal. The effort finally paid off in the 47th minute when Vivi Vera Fernanda managed to reduce her team's deficit by scoring against the Tigers Football Academy, guarded by Khesya Bunga Alkalivi.

However, Tigers Football Academy once again demonstrated their sharpness. Dinda Yosephine Manurung scored her fourth goal in the 57th minute, which was the final goal and simultaneously confirmed Tigers Football Academy as the champion of the U-18 category of the HYDROPLUS Soccer League in Surabaya.

The coach of the Tigers Football Academy U-18, Agustina Indah Mahardika, expressed pride in her team's struggle after successfully navigating a long series of competitions with consistent performance until the end of the tournament. Although pleased with the team's achievements, she emphasized that the players should not become complacent. According to him, success on the podium is only a temporary part of the process of nurturing and developing young players.

"If this achievement is already good, but in my opinion as a coach, it still needs to be improved." In a competition, the target is definitely to win, but victory is temporary. When we are on the podium, we are indeed winners, but after that, the struggle begins again. So don't be too quick to be satisfied," he said.

Tigers Football Academy player, Havivi Oktaditya, admitted to being quite satisfied with his team's performance throughout the competition. However, he believes there are still many things that need to be improved, especially in building cohesion among the players. He also feels that the team's achievements are closely tied to the hard work of the players, including additional training sessions conducted outside the team's official schedule.

"In my opinion, this result is well-deserved because I also did extra training outside of the usual practice hours." In the future, we will conduct a training camp for centralized training. Additional training will be for the preparation of the HYDROPLUS Soccer League All Stars, so it needs to be further improved," he stated.

The Climactic End of Arema FC Women in the U-15 Category

Meanwhile, a different dominance occurred in the U-15 category. This time, Arema FC Women performed outstandingly and successfully clinched the championship title after finishing the season with a collection of 42 points, surpassing Tigers Football Academy, who had to settle for being the runner-up with 32 points.

In the last match, Arema FC Academy managed to defeat Tigers Football Academy 4-2. The goals for Arema FC Women were scored by Yekti Ulya Sihamuddakwah (1’), Kesya Arabela Manisya Nian (28’, 33’), and Agustine Kafiar (35’). Meanwhile, Tigers Football Academy could only respond with two goals scored by Yumna Naziya Final (5’) and Kinanthi Martha Shailla (21’).

Arema FC Women U-15 coach, Nanang Habibi, admitted that his players did not perform at their best in the final match of the competition. The players' declining physical condition and lack of preparation were the main factors affecting the team's performance, especially in the first half of the match.

Nanang explained that several players experienced fatigue due to their busy school activities, so the team could only gather in full on the nite before the match was held. The situation left Arema FC Women U-15 with no ideal preparation time to face the decisive match.

"In the first half, the kids weren't really at their best." Maybe some players experienced fatigue before coming here because we just gathered and met all of them last nite. There are school activities as well, so for this last week, we actually didn't have any preparation," said Nanang.

Kesya Arabela Shines Even Brighter, Secures Top Scorer Title in the U-15 Category

On the other hand, one of the main highlights of the HYDROPLUS Soccer League Surabaya comes from the brilliant performance of Arema FC Women's Forward, Kesya Arabela Manisya Nian. She was sharp, scoring 42 goals throughout the competition, making her the top scorer in her age category. This proves that she has shown consistency in her performance whenever she gets the chance to play on the field.

Kesya's brilliant career journey is inseparable from the development process since early childhood thru the MilkLife Soccer Challenge. From that event, her skill development continued until she was able to break into the competitive level with Arema FC Women U-15. Her impressive performance also opened the door for her to the international level.

In early May 2026, Indonesia U-17 Women's National Team coach Timo Scheunemann included her name as one of the players participating in a training camp in France. The opportunity to undergo a training camp in Europe became an important experience for the development of her career, while also increasing her exposure in a more competitive international football atmosphere.

"I learned a lot of new things there." Taught that when you get the ball, you must gather information first before making a decision. And also practicing defense when the team is being attacked, and I applied that in this match," he revealed.

He also admitted to being challenged by playing in a higher age group. He even hopes to get the opportunity to play at the U-18 level so he can experience a more competitive match atmosphere. "I also want to play in the U-18, because in the U-15, in my opinion, the game isn't too tough yet. In the higher age groups, it will definitely be faster and more challenging," he said.

After winning the HYDROPLUS Soccer League Surabaya title, Tigers Football Academy and Arema FC Women secured tickets to compete in the HYDROPLUS Soccer League All-Stars, which will be held in Kudus from July 5-12, 2026. The event will bring together the champions and runners-up of the U-15 and U-18 categories from four host cities: Bandung, Jakarta, and Kudus.

Daftar pemenang HYDROPLUS Soccer League Surabaya:

U-15
Champion : Arema FC Women
Runner-up : Tigers Football Academy
Top Scorer : Kesya Arabela Manisya Nian (Arema FC Women) - 42 Gol
Best Goalkeeper : Allicia Pramitha (Tigers Football Academy) Best Player : Lintang Anugrah Radisty (Arema FC Women)

U-18
Champion : Tigers Football Academy Runner-up : Arema FC Women
Top Scorer : Rara Anindita (Tigers Football Academy) - 17 Gol
Best Goalkeeper : Kesya Putri (Arema FC Women)
Best Player : Havivi Oktaditya (Tigers Football Academy)