Liga Nusantara (English: Archipelago League), officially known as PNM Liga Nusantara for sponsorship reasons, is the third-tier of the football competition system in Indonesia, organized by the Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI). The competition started in 2014 after PSSI merged the previous competitions, Liga Indonesia Second Division and Liga Indonesia Third Division. The competition was previously organized in two phases, with the provincial phase operated by PSSI Provincial Associations, where each province held its own regional competition, followed by the national phase operated by PSSI, where the top teams from each province competed at the national level.
Starting from the 2024âÂÂ25 season, the competition is organized on a national level with teams divided into several groups based on geographical factors and is now operated by the I-League.
History
The competition was established after Liga Indonesia Second Division and Liga Indonesia Third Division merged in 2014. Starting in 2015, the Liga Indonesia First Division was also merged with Liga Nusantara to become the third-tier level in Indonesian football system. Persatu Tuban won the competition's first season.
In 2017, Liga Nusantara was renamed to Liga 3, along with Indonesian Super League and Indonesian Premier Division which were renamed to Liga 1 and Liga 2, respectively.
In 2024, Liga 3 was renamed back to the Liga Nusantara, along with the establishment of Liga 4 as fourth-tier level. Liga Nusantara was elevated to a semi-professional level after previously being at the amateur level.
Format
Old format
Provincial phase
Each province held a provincial phase, they were followed by amateur clubs without a limit of participants with different competition formats, the difference in the format was due to the different number of participants in each province. Furthermore, the teams that qualified from the provincial phase competed in national phase.
National phase
A total of 80 teams entered this phase.
- First round: 80 teams were divided into sixteen groups of 5. Each group was played on a home tournament basis. Winner and runner-up of each group advanced to the second round.
- Second round: 32 teams which were the winners and runners-up from each group of the first round. They were divided into eight groups of 4 and each winner and runner-up advanced to the third round.
- Third round: 16 teams were divided into two groups. Each group was played on a home tournament basis. Same as previous round, the winner and runner-up of each group advanced to the fourth round.
- Fourth round: 8 teams were divided into two groups. The three best teams of each group were promoted to the Liga 2. The winner of each group also advanced to the final.
- Final: The 2 group winners from the fourth round played in the final match. The final was played as a single match.
New format
2024âÂÂ25 season
The league format was announced on 7 November 2024. There was no provincial or national phase. Instead, there were four rounds:
- Regular round: 16 teams were divided into two group of eight, with the round being played in a centralized format of double round-robin matches. The top three teams of each group qualified for the championship round, while the remaining teams qualified for the relegation play-offs.
- Relegation play-offs: 10 teams were divided into two groups of five teams, with the round being played in a centralized format of single round-robin matches. The bottom three teams of each group were relegated to the 2025âÂÂ26 Liga 4.
- Championship round: 6 teams were divided into two groups of three teams, with the round being played in home-and-away round-robin matches. The group winners advanced to the final and promoted to the 2025âÂÂ26 Liga 2. The group runners-up entered to the promotion play-off.
- Promotion play-off & Final: The play-off and final were played as a single match. If tied after regulation time, it went to extra time and a penalty shoot-out to decide the winning team if necessary. The winner of the play-off match was promoted to the 2025âÂÂ26 Liga 2, while the winner of the final match was crowned as champions.
2025âÂÂ26 season
24 clubs are divided into four groups: Group 1, Group 2, Group 3, and Group 4. Each group consists of six clubs, and teams will face each other three times in a three-legged competition format, for a total of 15 matches. Teams receive three points for a win, one point for a draw, and no points for a loss. Teams are ranked based on total points, then head-to-head record, then goal difference, and then goals scored. If still tied, fair play points and then a draw will determine the rankings.
The top two teams from each group will advance to the knockout stage, while teams ranked 3 and 4 will remain in the Nusantara League for the next season.
The fifth-ranked team from each group will compete in the relegation play-offs, while the sixth-ranked team from each group will be directly relegated to Liga 4.
See the knockout round format
Teams
Maps
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Current participating teams
The following 24 clubs will compete in the Liga Nusantara during 2025âÂÂ26 season.
- "Year joined" is the year the club joined the Liga Indonesia, including leagues that are divisionally below it and counted since 1994âÂÂ95 season.
- "First season in D3" and "Seasons in D3" counted since First Division dropped down to third-tier and also including of LPIS First Division during dualism era (2011âÂÂ2012) and ISC Liga Nusantara in 2016 season.
- "Seasons in LN" and "Current spell in D3" counted since the third-tier league was renamed as Liga 3 and later changed to Liga Nusantara.
- "Last spell in CH" counted since Premier Division dropped down to second-tier (now Championship), including LPIS Premier Division during dualism era (2011âÂÂ2013) and ISC B in 2016 season.
Former names
Breakaway league:
Unofficial league
Former teams
The following clubs competed in the Liga Nusantara since 2024âÂÂ25 season, but are not competing in the 2025âÂÂ26 season.
- "Year joined" is the year the club joined the Liga Indonesia, including leagues that are divisionally below it and counted since 1994âÂÂ95 season.
- "First season in D3" and "Seasons in D3" counted since First Division dropped down to third-tier and also including of LPIS First Division during dualism era (2011âÂÂ2013) and ISC Liga Nusantara.
- "Season in LN" and "Last spell in D3" counted since the third-tier league was renamed as Liga 3 and later changed to Liga Nusantara.
Former names
Championship history
Old format
Single-legged finals
Two-legged final
New format
Promotion history
Old format
New format
Relegation history
Awards
Best players
Top scorers
Fair play awards
Title sponsors
See also
References
External links