Approved By FIFA, Maarten Paes Can Defend The Indonesian National Team

JAKARTA - Indonesian naturalized goalkeeper Maarten Paes is certain to be able to appear and defend the Indonesian national team. This certainty was discovered after PSSI won the FIFA appeal hearing.

The certainty regarding the status of Maarten Paes was revealed by the General Chairperson (Ketum) of PSSI, Erick Thohir. Through an upload on Sunday, August 18, Erick Thohir shared good news for the Garuda Squad.

"The news is good for Indonesian football. PSSI today informed that after going through a long and extensive process, Maarten Paes has finally been successfully registered and is now legally able to play on behalf of the Indonesian national team," Erick Thohir wrote on his personal Instagram quoted on Sunday, August 18.

Through this news, Erick hopes that the joining of Maarten Paes will increase the strength of the Indonesian national team.

"With a sense of love and pride for Indonesia and its ideals to have a positive impact on Indonesian football, we are confident that Maarten's joining will strengthen the national team, especially in facing the third round of World Cup qualifiers," said Erick.

"We welcome his arrival with open arms and wait for the Indonesian national team to achieve better performance," he added.

Previously, it was known that Maarten Paes officially became an Indonesian citizen (WNI) on April 30, 2024. However, this FC Dallas player could not directly defend the Indonesian national team in the international calendar.

The reason is because FIFA had rejected the transfer of the Paes association from the Netherlands (KNVB) to Indonesia (PSSI). This is because the player had defended the Dutch U-21 national team at the age of 22.

Not satisfied with FIFA's decision, PSSI filed an appeal against the decision. The appeal was filed and was tried on August 15.

The results of the trial then decided that currently Maarten Paes had officially become part of the Indonesian national team completely.