Naturalization in the Women's National Team, between Coaching and "Shortcuts" to Achievement

After the aggressive naturalization efforts in the Indonesian men's national football team, a similar program has begun to be implemented in the women's national team. Although PSSI rejects the label of "shortcut," the measures taken give such an impression amid domestic development that has not yet fully progressed.

At the Dewa United Arena training field in Tangerang Regency, on Saturday morning (28/6/2025), Viny Silfianus smiled as she successfully broke free from the guard of Isabelle Nottet and Isa Warps. Viny controlled the ball while the two other players were tasked with chasing her.

Viny and Isa are part of the final squad of the national women's team for the qualification of the 2026 Women's Asian Cup. They are undergoing training ahead of their first match in Group D against Kyrgyzstan at the Indomilk Arena Stadium, Tangerang Regency, Banten, on Sunday (29/6/2025) evening.

Isa is a newly naturalized player who was called up to Garuda Pertiwi on June 13. Three days prior, Isabelle, along with three other players, namely Felicia de Zeeuw, Iris de Rouw, and Emily Nahon, was officially naturalized as Indonesian citizens. The four footballers were previously citizens of the Netherlands.

Before Isa, Felicia, Iris, and Emily, the women's national team had naturalized two players of Indonesian descent, namely Noa Leatomu and Estella Loupatty. All of these naturalized players are part of the 23 players in the final squad out of a total of 38 players called up.

Meanwhile, Isabelle Nottet is a player of Dutch descent whose status is still on trial with the women's national team. Together with Pauline van de Pol and Isabel Kopp, they are still in the monitoring phase and have the potential to be naturalized. They are training with the final squad.

In fact, when a naturalized player is called up and selected to strengthen the national team, it means that there is one spot being taken away from a local player. This phenomenon is particularly evident in the defender position. The presence of Emily Julia Frederica Nahon, for instance, coincides with the "disappearance" of Shalika Aurelia on the other side.

In fact, Shalika can be considered a regular member of the Indonesian national team. She has even represented the national team since 2018 when she strengthened the U-16 team. In 2022, Shalika made history by becoming the first Indonesian female player to represent a European football club, specifically the Serie B club in Italy, Roma Calcio Femminile.

Shalika also performed well with the Filipino club, Makati FC, in the PFF Women’s League or the Philippine Women’s League 2025. At the club, Shalika appeared in 10 matches and became a mainstay in the team's defense, contributing to 4 clean sheets. She also provided 1 goal and 1 assist.

Another defender, Agens Hutapea, also "disappeared" from the national team squad. Like Shalika, she was not called by Coach Satoru Mochizuki during the initial selection. In fact, Agnes contributed to the national team's qualification for the 2025 AFF Women's Championship.

The PSSI naturalization program is consistent. It does not involve taking players from other nations, but rather selecting our own citizens who happen to be playing abroad.

As the women's national team began to open up to diaspora players, Agnes did not deny that there were concerns in her mind. Moreover, according to Agnes, diaspora players are supported by regular training and competition as they are part of clubs and play in leagues. Meanwhile, Agnes experienced league play for the first and last time in 2019, which was six years ago.

The Indonesian women's football competition, Liga 1 Putri, was held for the first time in 2019 and has since been in a state of dormancy. This situation is lamented by many female footballers who are unable to test the results of their training through competition, ultimately leading to a lack of competitive experience.

In fact, competition is a benchmark for coaching. Without regular domestic competition, it is difficult to assess the development of women's soccer coaching.

As a result, the only platform for female football players to train and compete is the national team. However, they now need to compete with diaspora players who have been developed abroad.

On the other hand, Agnes attempts to find a positive aspect by viewing the presence of diaspora players as a source of motivation. "I try to be confident in competing, that I can compete. Although the training, facilities, and environment may be different from theirs, the spirit and courage are the same," she stated.

Meanwhile, Viny stated that the presence of naturalized players could strengthen the team. The player, who once held the position of captain of the national team, will utilize the presence of naturalized players to gain insights. Moreover, according to Viny, these naturalized players possess certain advantages in terms of speed, passing, ball control, and finishing.

"There may be differences in quality. But, we can match them all. And I hope they can also give their best. They can quickly adapt to us as well. Hopefully, we can provide the best," said Viny.

The Chairman of PSSI, Erick Thohir, who monitored the training session on Saturday (28/6/2025), stated that the women's national team is open to anyone, including young players and those from the diaspora. The path of naturalization, according to Erick, is taken because the pool of player talent is still lacking. This reason is also what has caused the Women's League to remain inactive.

However, Erick promised that coaching within the country would continue even though the national team implemented naturalization. "So, yes, indeed, coaching from within, or diaspora players who want to join, yes, we are very open. Because indeed the talent pool of our women's national team is still very lacking," said Erick.

"His talent at the grassroots level is insufficient, and the national team is not adequate. This is what we are currently trying to build together. Therefore, we need to ensure continuity between domestic development and our players abroad, and we will maximize this effort together," he stated subsequently.

Erick added that neighboring countries such as Vietnam are also making breakthroughs to strengthen their sports, including football. One of these breakthroughs is by starting to engage their diaspora. According to Erick, what Vietnam is doing should also serve as an encouragement for PSSI to not become complacent in order to remain competitive with them or other Southeast Asian countries.

However, Erick is reluctant to refer to the search for diaspora and naturalization as a shortcut to achieving success. According to him, other sports branches in other countries are also reinforced by diaspora players.

"But this does not mean that we are looking for shortcuts, yes or short term, no. But, because sports are global," said Erick.

"And the PSSI naturalization program is consistent. It is not about taking players from other nations, but rather selecting our own citizens who happen to be playing abroad," he added.

Naturalization may be a short-term effort to pave the way for the development of women's football. However, without a foundation called structured and sustainable coaching, the dream of "Garuda Pertiwi" will only linger among the shadows of marginalized domestic female footballers.