Persiba Balikpapan

Early years

The club, known as Tim Selicin Minyak, was founded on 3 August 1950.^[3] Since its founding, the club has competed in various tournaments at the provincial and national levels. Before adopting the name Persiba Balikpapan, the club was originally known as PS Belalang, before changing its name in 1963.^[3]

1980s: Golden era

The 1980s represented the golden age of Persiba.^[4] The club's rise began with the 1983 Third Division title. In the final standings, Persiba faced stiff competition from hosts Persisam Samarinda, who needed a 7–0 victory in the last match to claim first place. Although Persisam came close, PSTK Tarakan prevented the final goal, and the match ended 6–0, leaving Persiba at the top.

The Third Division title earned Persiba a place in the central regional round, hosted by Persipal Palu and Persigo Gorontalo. Despite playing away from home, Persiba defeated each host side 1–0. The club went on to win the Second Division trophy in 1984, earning promotion to the First Division in Yogyakarta.

Persiba continued their strong run and advanced through each round until reaching the final at Diponegoro Stadium in Semarang on Wednesday, 4 December 1985. Their opponents were PSIM Yogyakarta, a well-respected side at the time. Persiba legend Junaedi scored the only goal of the match in the 72nd minute, securing a 1–0 victory and the First Division title. Johny Rinning was named the best player of the tournament, capping a remarkable individual season. Playing as a libero, Rinning collected four best player awards: the Gorontalo Regent's Cup in 1984, the First Division in 1985, the Surabaya Mayor's Cup in 1985, and the East Kalimantan Governor's award.

With their First Division title, Persiba earned a place in the top flight of Indonesian football. During this period, the Persiba Stadium was constructed under the chairmanship of Syarifuddin Yoes, who also served as Mayor of Balikpapan. The stadium was built on Parikesit Street, on land owned by PT Pertamina, and was completed within a year to meet the requirements for Premier Division participants.

In the top flight, Persiba performed respectably, finishing in the top six on two occasions — in the 1987–88 and 1989–90 seasons.

Liga Indonesia era

From the 1994–95 season, the Perserikatan and Galatama competitions were merged to form the Liga Indonesia Premier Division. During this era, Persiba struggled to maintain their place in the top tier, consistently finishing one or two positions above the relegation zone in their first three Premier Division seasons. In 1998–99, the club was eventually relegated to the Liga Indonesia First Division after finishing sixth (last) in the East Division.

Under chairman Zainal Abidin, Persiba went through four changes in leadership before finally winning promotion under Syahril HM Taher, who took charge in 2003. In 2004, the club returned to the Premier Division after finishing fourth in the regional 2 First Division.

Back in the top flight in 2005, Persiba showed immediate promise, finishing fifth in the East Division with 41 points from 26 matches — just two points behind Persebaya Surabaya, who qualified for the second round. In 2006, the club reached the second round after finishing fourth in the East Division, behind Persmin Minahasa, Persik Kediri, and PSM Makassar.

ISL era

In the Indonesia Super League (ISL) era, Persiba's performances were inconsistent. In their first ISL season, under coach Daniel Roekito, the club finished 12th with 45 points.

However, Persiba impressed in the 2009–10 season, with key players including I Made Wirawan, Mijo Dadic, Robertino Pugliara, Gendut Doni, and Julio Lopez. The team finished third, behind Arema Indonesia and Persipura Jayapura, and ahead of both Persib Bandung and Persija Jakarta. The other East Kalimantan clubs, Bontang FC and Persisam Putra Samarinda, finished outside the top ten. That season, Persiba also became the only team to defeat Arema in both home and away fixtures, and the only side to take three points at Kanjuruhan Stadium.^[5][6]

At the Inter Island Cup, a pre-season tournament for leading clubs, Persiba was the only representative from Kalimantan. In the 2010 edition, they defeated the reigning Piala Indonesia champions, Sriwijaya, by a large margin and advanced to the semi-finals. Despite these achievements, Persiba's form declined in subsequent seasons.

2017: Financial problems and relegation to Liga 2

Persiba's performances continued to fluctuate in the years that followed. By the inaugural Liga 1 season, the club — the oldest in East Kalimantan — was struggling financially, with funding heavily dependent on the club's owner and no significant sponsorship secured. The club's nomadic situation was made worse by the fact that Pertamina, the landowner of Persiba Stadium, had scheduled the site for redevelopment, while the replacement venue, Batakan Stadium, was still under construction.

As a temporary measure, Persiba relocated to Gajayana Stadium in Malang, East Java. However, the team failed to win a single home match there and returned to Parikesit after just four games, before eventually settling at Batakan Stadium. The season ended poorly, with only seven wins from 34 matches. Persiba finished second from bottom, alongside Semen Padang and Persegres Gresik United in the relegation zone.

The situation did not improve in Liga 2, where Persiba came close to a second successive relegation, finishing just one point above the drop zone in the East Region.

In November 2018, Syahril HM Taher was reappointed as chairman. He cleared hundreds of billions of rupiah in club debt and announced that Rp 5 billion in shares were available for new investors. Ownership was subsequently transferred back to the Balikpapan City Government, and Balikpapan Deputy Mayor Rahmad Mas'ud was announced as the new owner. Mas'ud set a clear target of returning Persiba to the top division. However, shortly before the new season began, he resigned from the role, citing complications in the ownership transfer process. Despite a personal appeal from Balikpapan Mayor Rizal Effendi to reconsider, Mas'ud's resignation stood.

2019: New era under Gede Widiade

The new investor was Gede Widiade, former managing director of Persija Jakarta. His appointment was confirmed following a meeting between Mayor Rizal Effendi, Syahril HM Taher, and Widiade on Monday, 29 April 2019.

Widiade was a well-known figure in Indonesian football, having managed several clubs and led Persija to the 2018 Indonesia President's Cup and the 2018 Liga 1 title. His decision to join Persiba, rather than the similarly relegated Sriwijaya, was partly attributed to his personal relationship with former chairman Syahril. "I am grateful to the Mayor and to my elder, Mr. Syahril. I am not here as an investor, but as his son," Widiade said after the meeting.

With Liga 2 scheduled to begin on 15 June 2019, Widiade had fewer than two months to assemble a squad. Nevertheless, he expressed confidence in completing the mission of returning Persiba to the top flight. "I was asked to help bring Persiba back to where it belongs. God willing, I can fulfil that mandate," he added.

2025: Return to Liga 2 from Liga Nusantara

On 27 February 2025, Persiba secured promotion to Liga 2 after defeating PSGC Ciamis 4–3 on penalties following a 2–2 draw, with both goals scored by Herman Dzumafo. The result ended the club's one-year absence from the second tier.

Derby Kaltim (until 2014)

Matches between Persiba Balikpapan and Persisam Putra Samarinda (now Bali United) were known as the "Derby Kaltim", widely regarded as the fiercest and most intense derby on the island of Kalimantan.

According to historical witness and match committee chairman Warsito, the rivalry between the two clubs dates back to the 1970s.^[7] "If we flash back to the 1970s, the dispute began between the players themselves — there were no supporters involved yet. Then, as fanaticism grew, it spread to the fans," Warsito explained. Over time, the hostility extended beyond the stadium, with no formal peace agreement reached for many years.

The derby was suspended after 2015, when Putra Samarinda was renamed Bali United and relocated its home base from Samarinda to Gianyar.

Derby Kaltim (continued)

The Derby Kaltim was revived through matches between Persiba Balikpapan and Borneo FC (formerly Pusamania Borneo), another club based in Samarinda. Borneo FC was promoted to the Indonesia Super League in 2015 following their Liga Indonesia Premier Division title the previous year.

Rivalry with Mitra Kukar

Mitra Kukar is also considered one of Persiba Balikpapan's main rivals.

Persiba Stadium (1986–2017)

At the start of the 2017 Liga 1 season, Persiba was forced to use Gajayana Stadium in Malang as their temporary home, as Pertamina — the landowner of Persiba Stadium — was proceeding with plans to demolish the site. The newly built replacement, Batakan Stadium, was not ready. Pertamina permitted Persiba to return to Persiba Stadium.^[8] Following further negotiations, the permit was extended until Batakan Stadium was ready and had passed verification.^[9] Persiba's final match at the stadium took place on 22 August 2017 against PS TNI, with the club winning 1–0 thanks to a last-minute header from Anmar Almubaraki. The stadium has since been taken over by PT Pertamina.

Batakan Stadium (2017–present)

Completed in August 2017,^[2] Batakan Stadium has a capacity of 40,000 and has been compared to the Emirates Stadium. Persiba first used the stadium on 9 September, in a 2017 Liga 1 fixture against Persegres Gresik United, winning 3–0.

Current squad

As of 7 June 2026^[10]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

More information No., Pos. ...

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  IDN Pancar Widiastono 2 DF  IDN Aed Tri Oka 4 DF  IDN Muhammad Ilham 5 DF  IDN Bintang Arrahim 7 DF  IDN Abdul Rachman (captain) 8 MF  IDN Bryan Cesar 9 FW  IDN Rishadi Fauzi 10 FW  JPN Takumu Nishihara 11 MF  JPN Hiromu Tanaka 14 MF  IDN Michael Singgih 15 MF  IDN Dwi Geno Nofiansyah 16 FW  IDN Danu Agusta 18 MF  IDN Dwiki Arya 19 MF  IDN Isfandyar Abdillah 21 MF  IDN Danil Reza 22 DF  IDN Rical Vieri 23 MF  IDN Nassim Fauzi

No. Pos. Nation Player 24 DF  IDN Valda Uzlah 25 DF  IDN Ibnu Yazid 27 MF  IDN Reza Pahlevi 31 GK  IDN Havizd Muzaki 62 FW  IDN Beni Oktovianto 67 DF  IDN Andre Pangestu (on loan from Bali United) 71 FW  IDN Aji Kurniawan 79 MF  JPN Kodai Nagashima 80 GK  IDN Achmad Alfarizi 81 GK  IDN Rizki Kusni Admojo 88 MF  IDN Ananta Krisna (on loan from Bali United) 91 FW  IDN Arsa Ahmad

Close

Recent history

Note: Displaying from the 2008–09 season, when the Indonesia Super League was established.

Notes

Season to season

Note: Since the Indonesia Super League (now Liga 1) launched in the 2008–09 season, the Liga Indonesia Premier Division (now Liga 2) became the second tier and the Liga Indonesia First Division (later replaced by Liga Nusantara) became the third tier.

Current league

• 8 seasons in Liga 1
• 7 seasons in Liga 2
• 1 season in Liga Nusantara

Defunct league

• 8 seasons in Premier Division (as first tier)
• 5 seasons in First Division (as second tier)
• 1 season in ISC-A

Domestic competitions

• Indonesia Super League
  • Third place (1): 2009–10
• Division I
  • Winners (1): 1985
• Division II
  • Winners (1): 1984
• Division III
  • Winners (1): 1983
• Liga Nusantara
  • Promotion play-off winner: 2024–25

Others

• Piala Walikota Padang
  • Runners-up (1): 2015
• Trofeo Battle of Borneo
  • Winners (1): 2018