VIJ Stadium

About

The VIJ Stadium was a sports venue in Jakarta, Indonesia. It was historically used by the Dutch East Indies football club (Dutch: Voetbalbond Indonesische Jacatra (VIJ)), which was founded in 1928. In 1950, the stadium's tenant club was renamed Persija Jakarta. VIJ Stadium is part of the football club history of Jakarta, specifically Persija. Before Indonesian independence, the stadium was built to provide a venue for the indigenous youth football club, competing with the Netherlands-aligned club in Indonesia, NIVB. NIVB, or Nederlandsch Indie Voetbal Bond, formed in 1918, consisted of Dutch people and was reportedly anti-indigenous players. Feeling discriminated against, several Indonesian youth established VIJ in 1928, headquartered in Petojo. As the club's headquarters was at VIJ, this field became known as VIJ Stadium. The stadium was built with the support of then-Persija builder, M.H. Thamrin, at a cost of 2000 Gulden. It was intended to be fully used by an indigenous football association, becoming the first field used by a native football association in Jakarta, namely VIJ. MH Thamrin's support for VIJ demonstrated his affection for the indigenous people of his birthplace, Jakarta. VIJ symbolized the resistance of indigenous citizens against the colonial government, notably by not using the name of Batavia in its association name. At this stadium, VIJ claimed four champi

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