Bola
Bola is an Indonesian sports-media brand founded as a Kompas newspaper insert and later developed into a sports tabloid and digital publishing property.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
Bola is an Indonesian sports-media brand associated with Kompas Gramedia. It began in March 1984 as a pull-out sports section within the Kompas daily newspaper and was subsequently established as a separate publication. The name, which means “ball” in Indonesian, reflects the brand’s original emphasis on football and its wider coverage of competitive sport. The printed publication developed into one of Indonesia’s best-known sports periodicals. In 1997, it moved to a twice-weekly schedule, appearing on Tuesdays and Fridays. From 2010, it was issued three times a week. Typical editions were substantial, with 48 pages for the Monday and Thursday issues and 32 pages for the Saturday edition. Its editorial scope extended beyond domestic football to major European leagues and international competitions, including the English Premier League, Spain’s La Liga, Italy’s Serie A, the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Europa League, Germany’s Bundesliga, France’s Ligue 1 and the Netherlands’ Eredivisie. Coverage also included the Indonesian Super League, other international football leagues, Formula One, motorcycle Grand Prix racing, boxing, basketball, tennis, badminton, the Olympic Games and other sports tied to the active competition calendar. Bola also experimented with a daily format. On 7 June 2013, it launched Harian Bola, or Bola Daily. The daily edition was short-lived: it stopped publication on 31 October 2015, after which the brand returned to a twice-weekly print schedule. This change reflected the difficulty of sustaining a dedicated daily sports newspaper in a media environment increasingly shaped by online news, rapid match reporting and changing reader habits. The print tabloid published its final issue on 26 October 2018. Its closure occurred within a broader Kompas Gramedia sports-media portfolio that included Super Ball, a daily sports newspaper launched in 2014 through the Tribun Network. Super Ball remained in publication according to the cited reference, while the Bola brand continued in digital form through Bolasport.com. Super Ball’s online presence also became associated with the Bola digital portal as Superball.ID. Bola’s editorial identity was strongly football-led. Its covers regularly featured prominent Indonesian and international players, including Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Alessandro Del Piero, Gabriel Batistuta, David Beckham, Thierry Henry, Ronaldinho, Francesco Totti, Zinedine Zidane, Gianluigi Buffon and many others. Special covers also brought together major players, national teams and tournament narratives. These covers helped position Bola not merely as a results publication but as a visual sports brand with a strong emphasis on football personalities, clubs, national teams and major events. The brand’s history therefore spans three related phases: a newspaper supplement, a standalone multi-issue sports tabloid and a digital sports-media property. Although the original print tabloid is defunct, Bola remains an active brand through its online sports publishing presence. Its principal market is Indonesia, and its corporate association is with Kompas Gramedia.
History
Bola was created in March 1984 as a sports pull-out section of Kompas, the Indonesian newspaper published by Kompas Gramedia. The supplement’s creation gave the newspaper a dedicated vehicle for sports reporting while allowing the developing Bola identity to build a distinct readership. It was later published separately as a standalone sports tabloid. The publication’s editorial center was football. Its coverage included Indonesian competitions and a broad range of European leagues and continental tournaments. Over time, Bola also reported on Formula One, motorcycle Grand Prix racing, boxing, basketball, tennis, badminton, the Olympic Games and other sports. The breadth of its coverage allowed the tabloid to function as a general sports publication, although football remained its defining subject. In 1997, Bola changed to a twice-weekly publication schedule, appearing on Tuesdays and Fridays. From 2010 it was published three times per week. The cited description identifies regular 48-page Monday and Thursday editions and a 32-page Saturday edition. The publication used two principal logos during its print history: an initial logo introduced in 1984 and used through 2009, followed by a second logo used from 2009 until the print edition ended. On 7 June 2013, Kompas Gramedia added a daily version called Harian Bola. The experiment lasted until 31 October 2015, when the daily edition ceased and Bola returned to a twice-weekly print schedule. The change marked an adjustment in publishing strategy as sports audiences increasingly obtained breaking news through online platforms and as print publishers reassessed the economics of frequent newspaper production. Bola’s print history concluded on 26 October 2018. Before the final issue, Kompas Gramedia had developed another daily sports newspaper, Super Ball, through the Tribun Network. Super Ball began publication in 2014 and was described as continuing in publication in the cited reference. The Bola name itself was subsequently maintained online through Bolasport.com. The Super Ball digital portal, originally associated with Tribunnews.com, became connected to the Bola portal under the Superball.ID name. The tabloid was also known for its extensive use of football-star cover subjects. Its documented covers included leading players from Indonesia and abroad, among them Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Alessandro Del Piero, Gabriel Batistuta, David Beckham, Ronaldinho, Thierry Henry, Francesco Totti, Zinedine Zidane and Gianluigi Buffon. Special covers featured player pairings and national teams, reinforcing Bola’s role as a football-focused sports brand and visual publication. Bola is consequently best understood as a continuing sports-media brand with a discontinued print newspaper lineage. Its current identity is digital rather than tabloid-based, while its historical importance rests on its long association with Indonesian sports journalism and its sustained coverage of domestic football, European football and major international sporting events.
- 2018
Final print issue
[1]Bola publishes its last print issue on 26 October.
- 2015
Daily edition ends
[1]Harian Bola ends daily publication on 31 October, and Bola returns to a twice-weekly print schedule.
- 2013
Harian Bola launches
[1]A daily version of the publication begins on 7 June under the name Harian Bola.
- 2010
Bola expands to three weekly editions
[1]The tabloid increases its print frequency to three editions per week.
- 1997
Bola adopts a twice-weekly schedule
[1]The publication moves to editions issued twice a week, on Tuesdays and Fridays.
- 1984
Bola begins as a Kompas pull-out section
[1]Bola is founded in March 1984 as a sports supplement inside the Kompas daily newspaper.
Products and positioning
An Indonesian sports-media brand centered on football coverage, supported by reporting on other major competitive sports and distributed through both print and digital channels.
Sports tabloid · 1984
Tabloid Bola
The original standalone Bola sports tabloid evolved from a Kompas newspaper insert into a regular print publication. It focused primarily on Indonesian and international football, while also covering motor racing, combat sports, basketball, tennis, badminton, the Olympics and other major competitions. Its regular editions were known for substantial page counts and football-centered covers featuring prominent players and national teams. The print tabloid ended with its final issue in October 2018.
Daily sports newspaper · 2013
Harian Bola
Harian Bola was Bola’s daily newspaper format, introduced on 7 June 2013 as an attempt to provide more frequent sports coverage. Its content extended the Bola editorial proposition into a daily news cycle, but the format did not continue permanently. Publication ended on 31 October 2015, after which Bola resumed a twice-weekly print schedule.
Digital sports news portal
Bolasport.com
Bolasport.com is the digital continuation of the Bola brand. It carries the brand’s sports-journalism identity into online publishing, with football at the center and additional coverage of other sports and competitions. The portal represents Bola’s shift from a print-first tabloid to an internet-based sports-media property after the closure of the physical publication.
Digital sports news portal
Superball.ID
Superball.ID is the digital Super Ball property associated with the Bola portal. Super Ball originated within the Tribun Network and was launched as a daily sports newspaper in 2014. The online property became identified as a subdomain or section of the Bola digital platform, extending Kompas Gramedia’s sports publishing network online.
Brand decisions
2018
Closure of the print tabloidStrategyBackground
After decades as a print sports publication, Bola ended its physical newspaper format.
Action taken
The final issue of the tabloid was published on 26 October 2018.
Aftermath
The brand continued online through Bolasport.com, while related sports publishing activity included Super Ball and Superball.ID.
2015
Withdrawal from daily print publishingStrategyBackground
The Harian Bola daily format was discontinued after a relatively brief run.
Action taken
Bola stopped publishing the daily edition and reverted to twice-weekly print publication.
Aftermath
The move preceded the eventual end of the print tabloid and the brand’s continuing digital presence.
2013
Launch of Harian BolaProduct launchBackground
Bola sought to increase publishing frequency by adding a daily sports newspaper alongside its established periodic tabloid format.
Action taken
The brand launched Harian Bola on 7 June 2013.
Aftermath
The daily edition ended on 31 October 2015, and the publication returned to a twice-weekly schedule.
Recent events
- 2018
Bola publishes its final print issue[1]
Other
The printed Bola tabloid ended publication with its final issue on 26 October 2018.
- 2015
Harian Bola ends daily publication[1]
Other
The Harian Bola daily edition ceased publication on 31 October 2015, after which the brand returned to a twice-weekly print schedule.
- 2013
Bola launches a daily edition under the Harian Bola name[1]
Product launch
Bola expanded its publishing schedule by introducing Harian Bola, a daily sports newspaper, on 7 June 2013.
Bola continues as a digital sports-media brand[1]
Other
Following the closure of the print tabloid, the Bola name continued through the Bolasport.com online portal, with Superball.ID associated with the portal as a digital sports property.
Sources1 sources
Cite this profile: Cite the canonical profile. /brand-wiki/bola · Editorial policy · How profiles are compiled