T

he Papuan connection may pave the way for Persipura to allow its players to report for international duty with the national team preparing for Asian Cup 2015 qualifying matches.

The Jayapura-based soccer club has been resisting a call by the Indonesian Soccer Association (PSSI) to release their players as the conflict within national soccer has showed no sign of abating.

However, assistant manager of the national team Nico Dimo, who hails from Papua, said on Thursday that the club management had toned down its refusal.

“I just made a call with Persipura manager Rudi Maswi. He has no objection to Persipura players joining the national team,” Nico told The Jakarta Post from the team training camp in Medan.

The training camp has been stuttering with clubs that are competing in the breakaway Indonesian Super League (ISL), under the rival Indonesian Soccer Rescue Committee (KPSI), still snubbing PSSI calls to release their invited players.

PSSI has listed 52 players for the camp before reducing the number to 23.

The training camp had 27 players as of Thursday with Dutch-born Raphael Maitimo being the latest player to join. His fellow naturalized player Irfan Bachdim has yet to arrive.

While most of the breakaway clubs are still refusing to release their players, Persipura, according to Nico, may change its mind due to the recent establishment of good communications between the club management and the national squad.

Nico said the team expected at least three of eight Persipura players on the call list. The players are Boaz Solossa, Ricardo Salampessy and Emanuel Wanggai.

Nico said that his involvement and that of the players should be seen as recognition of the nation’s trust in the Papuans and the hopes for a better performance from the national team.

The team will undergo two warm-up games before departing to Jordan where they will face Iraq on Feb. 6 in Group C. China and Saudi Arabia are the other teams in the group.