Asked About The Naturalization Of Players For The U-20 World Cup, PSSI Ketum Said This

Chairman of PSSI Mochamad Iriawan (Photo: PSSI)

JAKARTA - President Joko Widodo hopes that Indonesia will not only be successful in hosting the U-20 World Cup in 2021. The President also hopes that the Indonesian national team can excel by breaking into the round of 16.

This task rests on the shoulders of the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI). This is in accordance with the mandate of President Jokowi who handed over the responsibility for the formation of the Indonesian national team to PSSI. Of course, PSSI will prepare the best players.

There is a discourse about naturalizing players from abroad. Several players in European clubs have stated that they are ready to defend the Indonesian national team at the World Cup. PSSI does not deny this.

Chairman of the PSSI, Mochamad Iriawan, said the naturalization process could have been done. Not only foreign players, foreign players in League 1 clubs can also be naturalized if they are feasible.

"If the naturalization of players from outside, we will see. Hopefully there is a correlation, there are descendants of their grandparents who have lived in Indonesia," said Iriawan in a webminar with one of the media.

However, the man who is familiarly called Iwan Bule said the naturalization of foreign players was not a priority. PSSI, he continued, prioritizes local players. Moreover, his party can take advantage of Garuda Select players who have tasted knowledge abroad.

According to the Chairman of PSSI, the players who are members of Garuda Select have pretty good abilities. This can be seen from several matches against European clubs' academies. That is what PSSI will use.

"We still have backup players in Garuda Select. They are good. It can be seen in several matches, they are quite proud. That is our plan," he said.

Meanwhile, regarding the training camp (TC) of the Indonesian National Team in South Korea as expected by Shin Tae-yong, PSSI will still discuss it more deeply. The national football parent will coordinate with the government, in this case the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Iwan Bule said, TC could be done in other countries such as Vietnam. According to him, Vietnam is quite safe from COVID-19, where the number of positive cases is not as large as Indonesia.

"The clubs are also good enough to compete against. Incidentally, the national team coach is also Korean. This is just an example," said Ketum PSSI.