U-16 Girls' Soccer Team, Systematic Selection, and Colored Squad

The process of forming the Indonesia U-16 women's football team can serve as a model for the establishment of other age group teams or even the senior national team. The squad is diverse, both in terms of age and regional origin. The selection is systematic, supported by the presence of tiered tournaments.

A total of 24 young female footballers have passed the second stage of selection to join the Indonesia U-16 women's football team. Starting Tuesday (22/7/2025), they will undergo intensive training in Kudus, Central Java, in preparation for the ASEAN U-16 Girls Championship, which will take place in Surakarta, Central Java, from August 18 to 29.

Before narrowing down to 24 players, PSSI called up 45 athletes for the first selection phase. All players summoned in this stage are footballers competing in the Hydroplus Pertiwi Cup U-14 and U-16 tournaments from April to July 2025.

"These players have exceeded my expectations, they are better than I thought," said the coach of the U-16 women's team, who is also a former coach of the senior women's national team, Timo Scheunemann.

"In the regions, there may still be many shortcomings in the organization of the (Piala Pertiwi U-14 and U-16), but the main positive aspect is that from nothing, it has become something, and the pathway to the national team is clear. The selection is not done through coaches, but rather systematically, with calls made to various parties," he stated again.

Before the U-14 and U-16 Pertiwi Cup, players were "selected" to join their respective teams or clubs competing at the regional level. This tournament is divided into two age groups and began in Banten. Following that, it will take place in Jakarta, West Java (Bandung and Cirebon), Central Java (Semarang, Solo, and Kudus), and East Java (Surabaya and Malang).

From the regional level, the best players were selected based on the observations of the talent scouting team from PSSI. They were chosen to strengthen their respective cities in the subsequent tournament at the national level, which has combined two age groups, namely the U-14 Piala Pertiwi and the U-16 All Stars.

As for Kalimantan, Nusa Tenggara and Bali, Sulawesi, North Sumatra, South Sumatra, and Papua, they did not hold regional level tournaments. However, they are selecting players to later strengthen their respective regions.

In North Sumatra, for example, the Provincial Association of PSSI held an open selection for two days in Medan in mid-June. Players from various districts in North Sumatra participated to showcase their talents, including Fadilla, who came from Batu Bara Regency.

Fadilla, who is accustomed to playing football with the boys' team, not only passed the selection to strengthen the North Sumatra team. The top scorer of the Pertiwi All Stars Cup 2025 also passed the second selection stage for the Indonesia U-16 women's team along with four other players from North Sumatra.

The same goes for Papua. The assistant coach of Papua, Touskha Oktafia Stevelien Iba, stated that they disseminated information about the selection as widely as possible. As a result, not only female football players from Jayapura, the host of the selection, attended, but also from other regions in Papua, ranging from Biak in Papua Province, Merauke in South Papua, to Wamena in the Mountainous Papua.

Four players from Papua successfully passed the second stage of selection. Although still dominated by players from Java, the presence of players from Sumatra and Papua adds diversity to the U-16 team squad.

There was also a representative from the Bali-Nusa Tenggara region, namely Jimbaran J Jauhari. In addition, North Maluku was represented by the qualification of Dian A Pary, who, although strengthening Bandung, hails from Ternate.

Of the 24 names that passed the second stage, only Nafeeza A Nori did not participate in the Piala Pertiwi. Nevertheless, Nafeeza, who hails from SSB Uni and the Persib Bandung Academy, has experience in competitions, even abroad. Nafeeza has played in the Philippine League with Makati FC.

In addition to being heterogeneous in terms of regional origin, the players also vary in age. A player from Jakarta, Albianca Raula, for instance, is only 12 years old. Fadila is 13 years old, while Nafeeza is 14 years old.

This is not the first time PSSI has formed a U-16 women's team. However, this marks the first moment that the formation of the women's team has been conducted systematically and in stages.

The presence of tournaments from regional to national levels facilitates the team formation process. This process can serve as a model for the formation of other age group teams or even the senior national team.

When Satoru Mochizuki was first appointed as the head coach of the women's national team in February 2024, questions regarding the recruitment or selection process of players arose. This was due to the absence of competitions held over the past five years. Tournaments have also not been conducted regularly.

When it came time to search for players for the U-17 Women's Asian Cup, Mochizuki ultimately had to "dive into" the pockets of women's football training. At that time, PSSI stated that Mochizuki based his journey on data collected by the Technical Director of the Indonesian National Team, Indra Sjafri.

In his journey, Mochizuki then relied on recommendations from his assistant coaches regarding player call-ups. It was only at the Aceh-Sumut PON 2024, a quadrennial event, that Mochizuki had the opportunity to directly observe and select the players.

If there are regular tiered tournaments held, it is not impossible that the selection process, similar to the U-16 team, could also be applied to other age groups or the senior national team. With tournaments or even competitions, there are ample opportunities for female footballers to showcase their talents and pursue their dreams of breaking into the national team.

Former national women's team player, Tia Darti Septiawati, once stated that the presence of tournaments or regular competitions would facilitate coaches in selecting the best players for the national team. The results, according to Tia, would certainly differ from selections conducted sporadically.

"If through competition, the coach can observe the players' abilities over a long period. It is different from selection, which only occurs at one point in time. It is possible that a player who usually performs well may not be fit during the selection and therefore cannot show their maximum performance," said Tia.

Vivin Cahyani, a member of the Executive Committee of PSSI responsible for the women's national team, stated that from the names called in the first selection phase for the U-16 team, the number will be narrowed down to 21 names. They will become part of the final squad for the ASEAN U-16 Women's Championship.

The ASEAN U-16 Women's Championship, formerly known as the AFF U-16 Women's Championship, was first held in 2009. Indonesia participated in three of the four editions that have taken place, including when it was held in Palembang, South Sumatra, in 2018.

In the 2025 edition, Indonesia is grouped in Group A along with Malaysia and Timor Leste. Vietnam, Myanmar, and Cambodia are in Group B, while Thailand, Singapore, and Australia occupy Group C.