MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

From Group Chats to Matchday Streams: How Sports Communities Grow Online in Indonesia

Indonesia's sports communities no longer depend on one venue or one broadcast. A football supporter can follow club news before breakfast, join a messaging group at lunch, watch the match at night, then debate tactics long after full time. Basketball fans do something similar around IBL clubs, while esports communities add livestreams, creator analysis, team clips, and tournament chats. APJII reported internet penetration of 81.72% in 2026, or roughly 235 million users, and DataReportal estimated 180 million social media user identities in Indonesia in October 2025. That scale gives communities room to form around a club, player, game title, city, or creator. The strongest ones grow because members have reasons to return, not because a page collects the most followers. Read full article