Hizbul Wathan F.C.

Association football team in Indonesia

Football club

Hizbul Wathan

Full name

Hizbul Wathan Football Club

Nickname(s)

Sun Warriors
The Sun Turtles^[1]^[2]

Short name

HWFC
PSHW Sidoarjo

Founded

1970; 54 years ago (1970), as Persigo Gorontalo
2017; 7 years ago (2017), as Semeru FC
25 February 2020; 4 years ago (2020-02-25), as Hizbul Wathan FC

Ground

Gelora Delta Stadium
Sidoarjo

Capacity

35,000

Owner

Muhammadiyah East Java Region Leadership^[3]

Chairman

Dhimam Abror

Coach

Freddy Muli

League

Liga 3

2021

Liga 2/1st round (Group C), 6th (relegated)

Home colours

Away colours

Third colours

Hizbul Wathan Football Club is a professional Indonesian football team based in Sidoarjo Regency, East Java. They compete in the third tier of Indonesian league, Liga 3.

History

Semeru FC is an amalgamation of other Lumajang regional teams. In 2017, hoping to promote regional football and build community pride,^[4] 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 (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. 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, nationality and humanity through football; citing its cadres like Soeratin Sosrosoegondo that used to be the founders of the Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI).^[5]^[6]

Name and logo change

Persigo Semeru logo (2017–2019)^[7]

Coaching staff

Position	Name
Head Coach	Freddy Muli
Assistant Coach	Yusman Mulyono
Fitness Coach	Kodari Amir
Goalkeeper Coach	Muhammad Adam

Stadium

Hizbul Wathan Football Club Sidoarjo plays their home matches at Gelora Delta Stadium in 2020.

References

^ "Profil Tim Liga 2 Indonesia PS Hizbul Wathan, Klub Sepak Bola Milik Persyarikatan Muhammadiyah - Surabaya Network".
^ "Profil Hizbul Wathan FC".
^ "BREAKING NEWS - Pimpinan Wilayah Muhammadiyah Jatim Akusisi Klub Liga 2 Semeru FC Lumajang". surabaya.tribunnews.com (in Indonesian). Retrieved 27 February 2020.
^ Ari D. P. "Persigo Merger dengan Semeru FC, Lumajang Punya Klub di Liga 2 | TOPSKOR". M.topskor.id. Archived from the original on 2017-02-21. Retrieved 2017-02-21.
^ Mohammad Ilham, ed. (27 February 2020). "PS Hizbul Wathan Akuisisi Semeru FC, Pilih Home Base Di Sidoarjo". jawapos.com. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
^ Redaksi. "Klub Liga 2, Semeru FC Berganti Jadi PS Hizbul Wathan". kastara.id. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
^ Taufik (2014-02-17). "Makna filosofi Logo Semeru FC Lumajang". Lumajangsatu.com. Archived from the original on 2017-02-21. Retrieved 2017-02-21.