Chelsea Football Club, one of the most prominent football clubs in England, has a huge fanbase all around the world, including in Indonesia.
Chelsea Indonesia Supporters Club (CISC) is theofficial Chelsea fan club in Indonesia with more than 40,000 members today. But the fan club hasn't always been this big. During its inception days, it only had five members. We met with CISC president, Agung Santoso, to talk about the fan club and his love for the Blues.
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How did you start this supporters club and why?
Around the 1990s, Manchester United (MU)and Liverpool were already well knownin Indonesia, while Chelsea was stillquite the underdog. Unlike Chelsea, those two teams already had communities in Indonesia. And I thought, "Chelsea also has a pretty big fanbase in Indonesia. It has to have a fan club here!".
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Ive always been a fan of Chelsea, but I couldn'tfind any fanbase of the club in this country. In early 2000s, social media wasnt as significant as today, so it washard to find information. But I have one or two friends who share the love for Chelsea, and I started to look for other Chelsea fans during events like live screenings of the footbal matches.
On, Oct. 2, 2003, we decided to foundChelsea Indonesia Supporters Club.There were only five members that time, but the number kept growing. Today we have more than 40,000 members all around Indonesia as every Chelsea fan is welcome to join us.
Chelsea Indonesia Supporters Club members (Brilio/Retno Wulandari)
You founded the fan club on your own initiative. Was that officially recognized by Chelsea FC?
I knew that to be officially recognized, I had to gathera big mass to show Chelsea FC that I have something to offer, the exposure and all.
In 2005, Chelsea held an Asia Tour to Bangkok, Thailand, and I pursued the chance to meet their management there. I managed to meet Peter Kenyon, CEO of Chelsea FC that time, and let him know that we exist. They were quite surprised that we managed to initiate a fan club and come all the way to Bangkok to meet him, in order to be recognized.
In 2007, Chelsea had an official visit to Malaysia. I came there and finally managed to get connected with the fan club manager. They said CISC had met all the requirements to become an official supporters club. In 2008 we got the official title. It was at our 5th anniversary.
CISC's certificate for visiting the Stamford Bridge (Brilio/Retno Wulandari)
What does it mean to be official?
Being official means we have privilege to attend and escort Chelsea FC tour to Indonesia, and we also have reserved seats in Chelseas Premier League matches, as well as international matches such as the Champion League. It depends on the grade of the supporters club. The grades are bronze, silver, gold, and platinum. Were now in gold grade, but next year maybe I will apply for platinum.
Was it hard to meet CEO and the players at the first time?
Players are usually quite hard to meet, but we often took the chance to snap photos and all. The CEO is less sought after by fans, so it was easier to meet and talk to him. All you need is courage.
A comic book signed by Frank Lampard.(Brilio/Retno Wulandari)
What does it mean to you to found this official fan club of a Premier League club?
Believe me, it means so much. Beyond the opportunity to meet famous players or to watch the match in Stamford Bridge (Chelseas basein London), were able to make fans dream come true, to see their beloved team directly in the legendary stadium and meet their player idols.
CISC has also opened many opportunities for me. I met many people from every background, from every socioeconomic groups in this supporter club. I work offshore for an oil company. I spend two weeks offshore and two weeks holiday at home every month. But my two weeks holiday are always filled with new experiences. I learned how to be a managet here and how to handle big partners such as BNI, British Embassy and Blibli, for example. I also learned things about marketing, sales and design. I also got many friends here.