SINGAPORE (4 June 2025) – Indonesia defender Kadek Arel will be looking to play a major role when his nation attempts to win the ASEAN U-23 Mandiri Cup™ 2025 on home soil in July after receiving a taste of senior international action at the highest level late last year.
The Bali United FC player is regarded as a rising star of ASEAN Football and, at the age of 19, he found himself thrust into the role of starting centre-back during Indonesia’s campaign at the ASEAN Championship 2024 last December.
Kadek Arel acquitted himself well on his introduction to the international stage, playing every minute of Timnas’ campaign and scoring his first senior national team goal in a 3-3 draw with Laos.
“Playing at the Mitsubishi Electric Cup for the first team has made me more confident now to play in the ASEAN U-23 Mandiri Cup™,” says Kadek Arel, who turned 20 in April.
“As a player, it is always an honour for me to play for Indonesia. I always want to give 100 percent for Indonesia, and I want us to be champions in the Under-23 tournament this year.”
Indonesia went close to winning the 2023 ASEAN U-23 Championship in Thailand, losing out in a penalty shoot-out to Vietnam after a 0-0 draw in the final.
However, Kadek Arel feels that the current team will benefit from playing in front of the home fans in Jakarta this time around.
“We are hosts for this tournament and it is our pride to play here in Indonesia,” says the Bali native. “Of course, our supporters will be coming to watch our matches, and I think it will be good for our team to be playing in front of them. We want to play 100 percent for our supporters and for the Indonesian people.”
Kadek Arel is particularly looking forward to Indonesia’s final game of the group stage on 21 July against arch-rivals Malaysia at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium.
“Every time we complete in an ASEAN tournament, Malaysia is our big rival. We all know that Malaysia are a good team and a strong team, and we must work hard if we want to beat them,” he says.
With other challenges to come later this year for his team, including the qualifiers for the AFC U-23 Asian Cup and the Southeast Asian Games, Kadek Arel is taking a pragmatic approach to every game that Indonesia play.
“We are just taking things match by match, he explains. “First, we play Brunei, then we play Philippines and then Malaysia in this tournament and hopefully qualify for the next rounds. For us, we try to win game by game, and then we think about our next challenge.”
The ASEAN U-23 Mandiri Cup™ is the fifth edition of the biennial tournament, which is a showcase for ASEAN’s rising stars. This year’s tournament will be played from 15 to 29 July and will feature teams from 10 AFF member countries – Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, Timor-Leste and back-to-back defending champions Vietnam.
Matches will be played at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta and Patriot Stadium in Bekasi, with Gelora Bung Karno Stadium hosting the semi-finals on 25 July and final on 29 July.
Bank Mandiri, Indonesia’s largest bank by total assets, loans, and third-party funds, is the first-ever title partner of the ASEAN U-23 Championship since its inception in 2005.
ASEAN U-23 Mandiri Cup™ 2025 – Group Stage
- Group A – Indonesia (hosts), Malaysia, Philippines, Brunei Darussalam
- Group B – Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos
- Group C – Thailand, Myanmar, Timor-Leste
Vietnam are aiming for a third consecutive ASEAN U-23 title after their victories at the 2021 and 2023 tournaments. Thailand won the inaugural tournament in 2005, and Indonesia were champions in 2019.
For more information about the ASEAN U-23 Mandiri Cup™ and other ASEAN United FC events, please visit https://aseanutdfc.com/ and @aseanutdfc on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, X and LinkedIn.
