The process of naturalizing diaspora players to strengthen the Indonesian national football team is ongoing. Recently, two players from the top tier of Dutch football, Mees Hilgers (FC Twente) and Eliano Reijnders (PEC Zwolle), were confirmed to soon don the Garuda jersey. However, the naturalization of these players has drawn some criticism, as both will be taking their citizenship oaths in the Netherlands, where they play their club football, instead of in Indonesia.
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Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI) Chairman Erick Thohir responded to the issue. In an interview at the Ministry of Law and Human Rights (KemenkumHAM) on Wednesday (19/9), the former president of Inter Milan clarified that both the PSSI and the government were following the rules. "It’s all according to the regulations. There's flexibility in place—taking the oath abroad is not unusual," Thohir explained.
He further emphasized the importance of respecting the players’ club commitments. “It just so happens that there's no FIFA match day at the moment. We need to respect the clubs where they play. That’s why we found a way that complies with the regulations, allowing them to take the oath in the Netherlands,” he said.
Thohir, who also serves as Indonesia’s State-Owned Enterprises Minister, pointed out that taking an oath of citizenship in a foreign country is not a rare occurrence.
It’s common for people to take their oaths abroad; there’s nothing special about it.
In response to the criticism surrounding the naturalization process, Thohir noted that differing opinions are part of a democratic society. “In a democracy, it's normal to have differing opinions. At PSSI, and I'm confident the government shares this view, we need to set a clear goal of improving the national team's performance in an honorable way,” he stated.
Thohir also highlighted FIFA regulations that allow countries to naturalize players under specific conditions.
For example, the Dutch national team has many players of Surinamese descent, France has players from its former colonies, the United States has players with Spanish surnames, and Spain has naturalized Brazilian players. Even Italy has naturalized Argentine players.
He emphasized that football is a global sport governed by FIFA’s regulations, which permit naturalization for players who have played in a country’s league for five years or have ancestral ties to the nation.
Regarding naturalization, Mees’ mother is from Manado, and Eliano’s mother is from Maluku. Their families still maintain strong ties with Indonesia—Mees’ mother regularly returns to Manado to visit a foundation supporting the visually impaired. They are very much Indonesian, so never question their loyalty to the red and white.
Thohir hopes the public will view the naturalization process positively.
Our goal is to harness all the best talent from abroad to strengthen the national team, provided they have Indonesian roots. Building the national team's success is not a short-term endeavor. We recently saw our U19 team win the AFF Championship, while the U17 team unfortunately finished third. This shows our commitment to long-term national team development.
Currently, Indonesia’s senior national team is competing in the third round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. In their first two matches, Indonesia, ranked 129th in the world, managed to hold two World Cup regulars to draws: a 1-1 tie with 56th-ranked Saudi Arabia and a 0-0 draw against 25th-ranked Australia. Indonesia shares a group with Saudi Arabia, Australia, Japan, Bahrain, and China.
