# 1996–97 Liga Indonesia Premier Division

The 1996–97 Liga Indonesia Premier Division (known as the Liga Kansas for sponsorship reasons) was the 3th season of the Liga Indonesia Premier Division, the top division of Indonesian football. The worsening macro economics situation prior to the Asian Financial Crisis forced the PSSI to further divide the league into 3 Regions, up from the previous season 2, to reduce cost related to logistical problems owing to the vastness of Indonesian geography. The season began on 17 November 1996 and ended on 28 July 1997. Persebaya won the title after beating the defending champions, Bandung Raya 3–1 in the final.

## Teams
### Team changes

The number of teams increased from 31 to 33 this season.

#### Relegated to First Division

* BPD Jateng
* Persegres

#### Promoted to Premier Division

* Persedikab
* PSB
* PSBL
* PSP

### Name changes

* Mataram Putra changed their name to Mataram Indocement.

### Stadiums and locations

West Division :
| Team | Location | Stadium |
| Arema | Malang | Gajayana |
| Bandung Raya | Bandung | Siliwangi |
| Medan Jaya | Medan | Teladan |
| Persebaya | Surabaya | Gelora 10 November |
| Persija | Jakarta (Central Jakarta) | Menteng |
| Persijatim | Jakarta (East Jakarta) | Rawamangun |
| Persikab | Cimahi | Sangkuriang |
| Persiraja | Banda Aceh | Haji Dimurthala |
| Persita | Tangerang | Benteng |
| PSBL | Bandar Lampung | Pahoman |
| Semen Padang | Padang | Haji Agus Salim |
Central Division :
| Team | Location | Stadium |
| Arseto | Solo | Sriwedari |
| Barito Putera | Banjarmasin | May 17th |
| Mataram Indocement | Mataram | Mandala Krida |
| Mitra Surabaya | Surabaya | Gelora 10 November |
| Pelita Jaya | Jakarta (South Jakarta) | Lebak Bulus |
| Persib | Bandung | Siliwangi |
| PSB | Bogor | Pajajaran |
| PSDS | Deli Serdang | Baharuddin Siregar |
| PSIS | Semarang | Jatidiri |
| PSMS | Medan | Teladan |
| PSP | Padang | Haji Agus Salim |
East Division :
| Team | Location | Stadium |
| ASGS | Surabaya | Gelora 10 November |
| Gelora Dewata | Denpasar | Ngurah Rai |
| Persedikab | Kediri | Canda Bhirawa |
| Persema | Malang | Gajayana |
| Persiba | Balikpapan | Persiba |
| Persipura | Jayapura | Mandala |
| Persma | Manado | Klabat |
| Petrokimia Putra | Gresik | Petrokimia |
| PSM | Ujung Pandang | Andi Mattalata |
| Pupuk Kaltim | Bontang | Mulawarman |
| Putra Samarinda | Samarinda | Segiri Samarinda |

## First stage
### West Region

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Persebaya (C) | 20 | 13 | 4 | 3 | 62 | 18 | +44 | 43 | Advance to second stage |
| 2 | Bandung Raya | 20 | 11 | 2 | 7 | 30 | 17 | +13 | 35 | Advance to second stage |
| 3 | Arema | 20 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 26 | 20 | +6 | 35 | Advance to second stage |
| 4 | Persiraja | 20 | 10 | 2 | 8 | 23 | 16 | +7 | 32 | Advance to second stage |
| 5 | Persita | 20 | 10 | 2 | 8 | 24 | 22 | +2 | 32 | |
| 6 | PSBL | 20 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 19 | 16 | +3 | 31 | |
| 7 | Semen Padang | 20 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 20 | 17 | +3 | 30 | |
| 8 | Persikab | 20 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 17 | 19 | −2 | 25 | |
| 9 | Medan Jaya | 20 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 24 | 25 | −1 | 25 | |
| 10 | Persija | 20 | 4 | 3 | 13 | 23 | 31 | −8 | 15 | |
| 11 | Persijatim (R) | 20 | 0 | 3 | 17 | 8 | 75 | −67 | 3 | Relegation to First Division |

### Central Region

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Persib | 20 | 8 | 10 | 2 | 22 | 14 | +8 | 34 | Advance to second stage |
| 2 | Pelita Jaya | 20 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 36 | 21 | +15 | 33 | Advance to second stage |
| 3 | Mitra Surabaya | 20 | 8 | 8 | 4 | 25 | 11 | +14 | 32 | Advance to second stage |
| 4 | Barito Putera | 20 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 23 | 24 | −1 | 29 | Advance to second stage |
| 5 | PSP | 20 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 22 | 25 | −3 | 29 | |
| 6 | PSIS | 20 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 21 | 20 | +1 | 26 | |
| 7 | Arseto | 20 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 15 | 20 | −5 | 26 | |
| 8 | PSB | 20 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 20 | 20 | 0 | 22 | |
| 9 | PSDS | 20 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 13 | 25 | −12 | 22 | |
| 10 | PSMS | 20 | 3 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 19 | −9 | 19 | |
| 11 | Mataram Indocement (R) | 20 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 13 | 21 | −8 | 18 | Relegation to First Division |
* ↑ PSB were docked three points for abandoning a match against Barito Putera.

### East Region

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | PSM | 20 | 14 | 1 | 5 | 48 | 21 | +27 | 43 | Advance to second stage |
| 2 | Gelora Dewata | 20 | 12 | 2 | 6 | 37 | 27 | +10 | 38 | Advance to second stage |
| 3 | Persma | 20 | 11 | 3 | 6 | 33 | 21 | +12 | 36 | Advance to second stage |
| 4 | Persipura | 20 | 11 | 2 | 7 | 31 | 22 | +9 | 35 | Advance to second stage |
| 5 | Putra Samarinda | 20 | 10 | 2 | 8 | 28 | 28 | 0 | 32 | |
| 6 | Petrokimia Putra | 20 | 10 | 2 | 8 | 21 | 26 | −5 | 32 | |
| 7 | Pupuk Kaltim | 20 | 10 | 0 | 10 | 39 | 22 | +17 | 30 | |
| 8 | Persema | 20 | 7 | 1 | 12 | 30 | 37 | −7 | 22 | |
| 9 | Persiba | 20 | 6 | 3 | 11 | 25 | 35 | −10 | 21 | |
| 10 | ASGS | 20 | 5 | 2 | 13 | 26 | 43 | −17 | 17 | |
| 11 | Persedikab (R) | 20 | 3 | 4 | 13 | 15 | 51 | −36 | 13 | Relegation to First Division |

## Second stage
### Group A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Persebaya | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 4 | +10 | 9 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Mitra Surabaya | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 7 | +2 | 6 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 3 | Persiraja | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 9 | −5 | 3 | |
| 4 | Gelora Dewata | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 10 | −7 | 0 | |

### Group B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Bandung Raya | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | +5 | 7 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Persib | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 5 | |
| 3 | Persma | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | −3 | 2 | |
| 4 | Barito Putera | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | −3 | 1 | |

### Group C

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | PSM | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 9 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Pelita Jaya | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 6 | |
| 3 | Arema | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 3 | |
| 4 | Persipura | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 | −3 | 0 | |

### Ranking of second-placed teams

| Pos | Grp | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | A | Mitra Surabaya | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 7 | +2 | 6 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | C | Pelita Jaya | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 6 | |
| 3 | B | Persib | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 5 | |

## Knockout stage

| Semifinals | Semifinals | Final | Final |
| 25 July – Jakarta | 25 July – Jakarta |
| Persebaya | 3 |
| Persebaya | 3 | 28 July – Jakarta | 28 July – Jakarta |
| PSM | 2 | 28 July – Jakarta | 28 July – Jakarta |
| PSM | 2 | Persebaya | 3 |
| 26 July – Jakarta | 26 July – Jakarta | | Persebaya | 3 |
| 26 July – Jakarta | 26 July – Jakarta | Bandung Raya | 1 |
| Bandung Raya | 1 | Bandung Raya | 1 |
| Mitra Surabaya | 0 | | |

### Final
## Awards
### Top scorers

The following is a list of the top scorers from the 1996-97 season.
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Jacksen Tiago | Persebaya | 26 |
| 2 | Isaac Fatary | PSM | 15 |
| 3 | Vata Matanu Garcia | Gelora Dewata | 14 |
| 4 | Peri Sandria | Bandung Raya | 13 |
| 4 | Musa Kallon | PSM | 13 |
| 4 | Gatot Indro | Persiba | 13 |
| 4 | Tibidi Alexis | Mitra Surabaya | 13 |

### Best player

* Nur'alim (Bandung Raya)