West Java is currently in a contradictory situation. On one hand, the provincial government boasts grand ambitions to achieve the 'Jabar Quadrick' or overall champion title four consecutive times at PON 2028. On the other hand, reality on the ground paints a starkly different picture: the sports development budget is suffering from a chronic crisis due to prolonged delays in grant disbursements.
This issue is not merely an ordinary administrative hurdle. Since early 2026, KONI West Java and several sports federations have had to contend with budget uncertainty. Ironically, the grant amount drastically shrank from IDR 30 billion to IDR 20 billion. Furthermore, half of the remaining budget is managed by the West Java Youth and Sports Agency (Dispora) without transparent distribution mechanisms, leaving sports branches in operational uncertainty amid ongoing preparations for the XV Provincial Sports Week (Porprov) 2026.
There are three fundamental structural problems. First, a lack of fiscal transparency under the guise of budget efficiency. Second, the inconsistency between government rhetoric exalting sports as an investment in human capital and the reality of budget cuts at a crucial moment. Third, the risk of normalizing the crisis by shifting operational costs onto individuals, coaches, and athletes, which ultimately triggers an exodus of talented athletes to other provinces.
Legally, this phenomenon violates the spirit of Law No. 11 of 2022 on Sports. Article 66 paragraph (2) and Article 79 paragraph (1) explicitly mandate that sports funding is a constitutional obligation of the government, not merely a political discretion that can be negotiated or postponed. Ignoring this mandate for the sake of budget efficiency is a risky move that threatens to damage the sports development ecosystem painstakingly built over many years.
The West Java Provincial Government is now urged to implement concrete governance reform rather than rely on verbal promises. A binding disbursement schedule, transparent budget rationalization, and multi-year funding schemes are required so that the major target for 2028 does not remain fragile political jargon. Without a healthy funding foundation, the 'Quadrick' target is merely an ivory tower built on a cracked foundation.
