The Flame of the Women's National Football Team

The participation of the women's national football team in the SEA Games has never been consistent. The best achievement of the women's national team has only been reaching the semifinals. However, all the adversities faced serve as the best fuel for Garuda Pertiwi to ignite their high motivation at the SEA Games in Thailand 2025.

The last time the Indonesian women's national football team reached the semifinals of the SEA Games was during the Kuala Lumpur edition in 2001, when Claudia Scheunemann (16) had not yet been born. On one hand, Claudia, who is now part of the women's national football team, is indeed still young. However, even the most senior player, Vivi Oktavia Riski (28), has only experienced the SEA Games once, and that was halted in the group stage.

And, on the other hand, the time gap that has elapsed is indeed quite significant since the national women's team achieved its best performance at the SEA Games. This gap is increasingly felt because Garuda Pertiwi also does not regularly participate in this Southeast Asian sports festival. The opportunity to match or surpass that best achievement is not always available.

The 2025 SEA Games in Thailand will serve as the debut stage for the women's national team after being absent in the previous two editions. This will also mark Indonesia's sixth participation out of a total of 13 editions of women's football contested. Claudia and Vivi will be the mainstays of Garuda Pertiwi's strength alongside 21 other players selected by coach Akira Higashiyama.

The match against the host Thailand on Thursday (4/12/2025) at 18:30 at Chonburi Stadium, Chonburi, will mark the moment of Garuda Pertiwi's return to the SEA Games stage. In addition to Thailand, Indonesia is also grouped with Singapore in Group A.

A month ago, when the women's national team continued their training camp in Yogyakarta, assistant manager Iwan Setiawan emphasized their confidence in bringing home the gold medal. "We want to create history so that women's football in Indonesia can continue to develop," he stated.

That belief may seem lofty, but it is actually reasonable. Moreover, the women's national team is surrounded by high motivation. They have plenty of "fuel" to ignite the spirit in pursuit of achievements in Thailand.

For Claudia and her teammates, the SEA Games is a proving ground. This serves as the initial motivation to demonstrate that the women's national team deserves to be sent to compete in the regional sports festival. Until now, the women's national team has never been regularly included in the SEA Games, even though this event does not require qualification. This means that anyone can actually participate, depending on the decision of each country.

After serving as the key player in the 2005 Philippines edition, Indonesia was not sent to the SEA Games for four consecutive editions. In fact, the situation in the Philippines featured only one group consisting of five teams. Indonesia was defeated by Myanmar, Vietnam, Thailand, and the Philippines, which have indeed begun to develop their women's football.

The women's national team made its debut at the SEA Games in the 1997 edition in Jakarta. Indonesia, which was then grouped in Group B alongside Myanmar and Malaysia, advanced to the semifinals after drawing twice. In the semifinals, Indonesia lost to Thailand 2-1, which ultimately emerged as the champion.

In the Kuala Lumpur edition, Malaysia, 2001, Indonesia once again participated and was placed in Group B alongside Vietnam and Singapore. Indonesia secured a ticket to the semifinals after defeating Singapore 1-0. Indonesia was halted, once again by Thailand in the semifinals.

Indonesia faced a different situation at the 2003 Vietnam SEA Games. They were drawn in Group A alongside Vietnam, Malaysia, and the Philippines. However, Indonesia failed to advance to the semifinals despite drawing twice and losing once, just like Malaysia and the Philippines. Indonesia finished bottom due to a superior goal difference and head-to-head record.

For the women's national team, the SEA Games is also another moment of proof after facing tough competition from Vietnam, Thailand, and Cambodia in the 2025 ASEAN Championship. Indonesia, which holds the title of AFF Cup champion as a second-tier tournament below the ASEAN Championship, could only experience the group stage.

The women's national team is also in a "wounded" condition after losing to Taiwan, 0-5, in a FIFA international match at Maguwoharjo Stadium, Sleman, Saturday (29/11/2025). The desire to heal the wounds and achieve victory will serve as additional motivation at the SEA Games.

In Group A, Indonesia initially joined not only Thailand and Singapore but also Cambodia, making the group consist of four teams. However, the Cambodian women's team withdrew from the SEA Games, similar to the men's team, due to security reasons. The security concerns referred to by the NOCC are related to armed conflict between the Cambodian and Thai military that began in July 2025.

Unlike the men's team, the reduction in participants did not result in any revisions to the group stage draw. Group A remains with three teams, as does Group B, which still includes Vietnam, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Malaysia. Each group's quota for the semifinals remains the same: two teams for the group champion and two runners-up.

The women's national team indeed faces a significant challenge as they are grouped with the host country, which has superior achievements and experience. Thailand may be in a wounded state after failing to qualify for the 2026 Asian Cup for the first time since 1997. As a result, they are also assured that they will not be able to compete in the 2027 Women's World Cup.

However, Thailand has participated in the Women's World Cup twice, specifically in the 2015 and 2019 editions. In the SEA Games, Thailand is the second most successful team after Vietnam. The "White Elephant Women" team has successfully secured five gold medals from this biennial multi-sport event. Thailand has also consistently sent a team to the SEA Games since women's football was first contested in the 1985 edition in Bangkok.

Nevertheless, Thailand should only be the sole significant challenge for the women's national team in the group phase. Garuda Pertiwi must not feel inferior when facing Thailand and should continue to strive for full points, but opportunities are also available by maximizing the match against Singapore.

On paper, Indonesia outperforms Singapore. In their most recent encounter at the AFF Cup 2024, the women's national team won 3-0. This result complements the five previous meetings, all of which were also won by Indonesia.

This means that the current moment presents the greatest opportunity for Indonesia to advance significantly in the SEA Games, at least matching the achievement of reaching the semifinals. Moreover, the women's national team has been targeted by the Ministry of Youth and Sports to secure a bronze medal.

"From the evaluation results of the Ministry of Youth and Sports team, yesterday if I am not mistaken, PSSI proposed the women's football team (target) bronze," said Minister of Youth and Sports Erick Thohir, who is also the Chairman of PSSI, at a press conference at the Ministry of Youth and Sports building in Jakarta, Friday (21/11/2025).

The target of the Ministry of Youth and Sports is indeed a bronze medal. However, various aspects that seem to be unfavorable to the women's national team and its players, including the absence of regular competitions, serve as significant motivation to realize the dream of making history and achieving greater accomplishments than the set target.

Dear readers, Kompas daily is opening a Letters to Athletes column, which contains opinions, encouragement, or comments regarding the performance of Indonesian athletes at the 2025 SEA Games Thailand. Send your short comments, a minimum of two sentences and a maximum of six sentences, by filling in the column below. We will publish selected comments in Kompas daily during the 2025 SEA Games.