Hizbul Wathan Football Club is a professional

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

team based in

Sidoarjo Regency Sidoarjo Regency () is a regency in East Java, Indonesia. It is bordered by Surabaya City and Gresik Regency to the north, by Pasuruan Regency to the south, by Mojokerto Regency to the west, and by the Madura Strait to the east. It has a land ar ...

East Java East Java (, , ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia located in the easternmost third of Java island. It has a land border only with the province of Central Java to the west; the Java Sea and the Indian Ocean border its northern ...

. They compete in the fourth tier of Indonesian league, Liga 4.

History

Semeru FC is an amalgamation of other Lumajang regional teams. In 2017, hoping to promote regional football and build community pride, regent ASAT Malik met with local football clubs including Persigo Gorontalo, based in Gorontalo to discuss a merger. The owner of Persigo Gorontalo, Ngateman, and ASAT Malik finalized a merger agreement and renamed Persigo Gorontalo to Semeru FC. In forming Semeru FC, local Lumajang footballers hope to raise the standard of their play and break into national football. As of 2017 the team was in the Liga Nusantara level. On 25 February 2020, the East Java Regional Leadership of

Muhammadiyah Muhammadiyah (), officially Muhammadiyah Society () is a major Islamic non-governmental organization in Indonesia.A. Jalil HamidTackle the rising cost of living longer New Straits Times, 30 October 2016. Accessed 1 November 2016. The organization ...

(East Java PWM) confirmed that it has acquired Semeru FC, one of the participating Liga 2 football clubs. They acquired Semeru FC who this season competed in Liga 2. In addition, they will compete under the name PS Hizbul Wathan (named after its scouting wing) and headquartered at the

Gelora Delta Stadium Gelora Delta Sidoarjo is a multi-purpose stadium in the regency of Sidoarjo, East Java, Indonesia. The stadium is located within Greater Surabaya metropolitan area. It is currently mostly used for football matches. The stadium has a capacity of ...

. Chairman of the East Java PWM M. Saad Ibrahim said that the acquisition was carried out because Muhammadiyah wanted to "preach through football". Despite being a new territory, the organization wanted to instill the values of

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

, nationality and humanity through football; citing its cadres like Soeratin Sosrosoegondo that used to be the founders of the

Football Association of Indonesia The Football Association of Indonesia (; 'All-Indonesian Football Association'; abbreviated as PSSI) is the governing body of Football soccer, football in Indonesia. It was founded on 19 April 1930. The PSSI joined FIFA in 1952 and the Asian F ...

(PSSI).

Name and logo change

Image:Semeru F.C. logo.png,

Coaching staff

Stadium

Hizbul Wathan Football Club Sidoarjo plays their home matches at

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

Season-by-season records

References

External links

* {{Liga 2 (Indonesia) Football clubs in East Java Association football clubs established in 2020 2020 establishments in Indonesia