Semarang, 17 October 2023. The biggest inter-high school futsal tournament in Indonesia, AXIS Nation Cup 2023, has succeeded in delivering SMAN 11 Semarang as the 3rd Champion. In the match for third place on Sunday (15/10) at Istora Senayan, Jakarta, they beat SMAN 1 Masbagik-East Lombok with a score of 4-2. For their achievement, the SMAN 11 Semarang team won a prize of IDR 15 million. Director & Chief Enterprise Business & Corporate Affairs Officer of XL Axiata, Yessie D. Yosetya, handed over the trophies and prizes to the champions in a lively celebration.
The AXIS Nation Cup 2023 champion team was SMAN 8 Makassar. In the final round on Sunday (15/10), at Istora Senayan, Jakarta, they beat SMK Nusantara, West Jakarta, with a score of 6-1. For their achievement, the SMAN 8 Makassar team won a prize of IDR 75 million.
Yessie D. Yosetya said, “The AXIS Nation Cup 2023 has just ended, and we are grateful and thankful for the extraordinary enthusiasm and participation of the tournament participants from high schools throughout Indonesia. The AXIS Nation Cup competition is one of XL Axiata's initiatives to support the government in fostering Indonesia's future generations who can compete and collaborate through team play, uphold the rules and sportsmanship through fair play, and enjoy the moment through fun games. This also confirms XL Axiata's commitment through AXIS to continue to understand the needs of the youth customer segment so that it can provide the best experience and continue to innovate to provide services and experiences that suit their needs and interests.”
Meanwhile, XL Axiata's Chief Marketing Officer, Alfons Bosch Sansa, said that after more than a month of the AXIS Nation Cup organization in various cities in Indonesia, the champions have finally been named. XL Axiata's goal of holding this program is very successful, as it can showcase high school futsal teams that are full of talent.
"Congratulations to the school teams that managed to become champions, as well as the teams that have successfully advanced to the grand final round, which has displayed an extraordinary game and is full of potential. Hopefully, their talents and potential can continue to be developed, and their achievements can be improved so that they can proudly represent the name of the school, the name of the region, and in the end, will also be able to be part of the Indonesian national team," Alfons continued.
Here are the best teams in the AXIS Nation Cup 2023:
Principal of SMAN 11 Semarang, Rr. Widiyastuti, S.Pd., said, "We are delighted with the success of bringing home the 3rd place trophy of the AXIS Nation Cup 2023 to Semarang. Once again, it is proven that hard work never betrays results. This is the result of our hard work so far. There is no student futsal tournament as luxurious and massive as the AXIS Nation Cup. Hopefully, next year we, can return to Istora Senayan, Jakarta, with the AXIS Nation Cup 2024. Everyone at SMAN 11 Semarang would like to thank everyone for their prayers and apologize for any mistakes we made during the competition. Long live XL Axiata, the pioneer of Indonesian youth creativity".
Here are the 10 teams competing in the Grand Final:
SMAN 11 Semarang's journey so far has not been easy. Starting from the preliminary round held on September 1–3, 2023, the team captained by Rizky Desta Putra had to first eliminate around 39 schools in the city of Semarang. Furthermore, in the Central Regional final round held in Cirebon on September 9, 2023, the team defeated the five best teams for the West Java, Central Java, and DIY regions.
The AXIS Nation Cup 2023 Grand Final event was also enlivened with music performances by JKT48 and Diskoria. In addition, there was also a Fun Match from the influencers between Shafira Ika Putri (National Team) and Aganta vs. Vonny Felicia and Ciccio Manassero (Actor). In the grand final round of the AXIS Nation Cup 2023, SMAN 8 Makassar, representing the Sulawesi Region, won the championship after defeating 10 other school teams from several cities in Indonesia and was entitled to a prize of IDR 75,000,000. Meanwhile, SMK Nusantara West Jakarta became the runner-up with a prize of IDR 50,000,000. Meanwhile, SMAN 11 Semarang became the third winner with a prize of IDR 15,000,000.
Involving more than 1,200 schools with more than 12,000 athletes from 30 cities across Indonesia, the AXIS Nation Cup 2023 also received wide attention from the public, especially young people. More than 100 thousand visitors attended the preliminary rounds in six regions that took place in Serang, Tangerang, Bogor, Bekasi, Jakarta, Bandung, Cirebon, Yogyakarta, Purwokerto, Semarang, Solo, Denpasar, Surabaya, Malang, Mataram, Aceh, Medan, Palembang, Padang, Jambi, Pekanbaru, Lampung, Pontianak, Balikpapan, Samarinda, Banjarmasin, Manado, Gorontalo, Palu, and Makassar.