Commission X Approves Joey Pelupessy's Naturalization, Dean James, And Emil Audero

JAKARTA - Commission X DPR RI agreed to approve the naturalization process that is currently being carried out by three players of Indonesian descent on Wednesday, March 5, 2025, at noon WIB. They are Joey Pelupessy, Dean James, and Emil Audero.

The decision was taken after the DPR RI Commission X Working Meeting which was also attended by Menpora and PSSI. In this agenda, the Menpora was represented by Taufik Hidayat, while PSSI was attended directly by the General Chairperson (Ketum), Erick Thohir.

The results of the Working Meeting and hearings from a number of faction representatives who attended this agenda, then it was decided that Joey, Dean, and Emil's naturalization process had been approved.

"Commission X of the Indonesian House of Representatives has decided to approve the recommendation for granting Indonesian citizenship on behalf of Brother Joey Mathijs Pelupessy, Emil Audero Mulyadi, and Dean James," said Lalu Hadrian Irfani as Chair of the Indonesian House of Representatives Commission X Meeting.

The statement was then greeted with an agreement from members of Commission X DPR RI. On the same occasion, Lalu also mentioned that the results of today's Working Meeting will be submitted to the DPR RI Plenary Meeting on Thursday, March 6, 2025.

At the end of the meeting agenda, Erick Thohir who was present also welcomed the naturalization agreement to the three players. He appreciated all parties involved and hoped that in the future Joey, Dean, and Emil could contribute optimally to the Indonesian national team.

"We express our appreciation for the support of Commission X, the chair of the meeting, and members who can make our dream (Indonesian football) come true with additional naturalization."

"We also appreciate the Ministry of Youth and Sports, which has always supported our program (PSSI). God willing, hopefully we can carry out this (player) assignment to the fullest," said Erick Thohir.

The naturalization recommendation for Joey, Dean, and Emil was carried out because the Indonesian national team needed players with a long experience.

Emil Audero currently plays for Serie B club Palermo. He previously had track records at big Serie A clubs, such as Inter Milan, Juventus, and Como.

While Joey Pelupessy also has qualified experience. The 31-year-old midfielder has defended various clubs in Europe, such as FC Twenty (Netherlands), Sheffield Wednesday (England), FC Groningen (Netherlands), and now Lommel SK (Belgium).

Finally, Dean James is a mainstay player for the Eredivisie club, Go Ahead Eagles. The 24-year-old left-back is an Ajax academy dropout.

The three naturalized candidates were rushed to immediately defend the Indonesian national team on the closest agenda, namely the 2026 World Cup Qualification which will resume in March 2025.

In addition, additional players are projected to be able to compete in the 2027 Asian Cup.