Initially, the tournament was planned to be competed by 20 teams: 18 teams from 2018 Liga 1 and 2 best placed teams from 2017 Liga 2.[9] Then, Persipura Jayapura decided not to participate in this year's tournament. Kalteng Putra was confirmed to replace them.[10]
Seven venues in seven cities were selected for the tournament.[12][13][14] On 21 January 2018, the venue of Group E officially moved from Gajayana Stadium to Kanjuruhan Stadium after two matches because the pitch of Gajayana was heavily damaged by bad weather and bad drainage.[15]
Player registration regulations are as follows:[16][17]
Clubs can register at least 18 players and a maximum of 36 players;
Clubs are required to register 7 players under the age of 23 (born on or after 1 January 1996);
Clubs can register a maximum of 6 foreign players, including one slot for a player from AFC countries. But only 4 foreign players (3+1 Asia) are eligible in a match;
Player registration is opened from 10 January 2018 until a day before the first match of each group.
Group stage
The Organising Committee (OC) announced the group draw on 9 January 2018. The group draw was determined by the host, the team's ranking in the 2017 Liga 1 competition, geographical factors, and commercial interests.[18][19]
Source: Group stage Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Drawing.
Knockout stage
Extra time would not be played in the quarter-finals. If a match ended with a draw, it would go straight to a penalty shoot-out to determine the winner. The away goals rule, extra time and penalty shoot-out would be used in the semi-finals, if necessary. The third place match would also go straight to a penalty shoot-out if tied after normal playing time. Extra time and penalty shoot-out would also be used in the final, if necessary.[20]
As per statistical convention in football, matches decided in extra time were counted as wins and losses, while matches decided by penalty shoot-outs were counted as draws.
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