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U-20 World Cup: PSSI sidesteps authority as fans voice concerns over foreign recruits
Soccer fans are concerned that the recent Brazilian recruits to three leading clubs might end up "usurping" spots on the U-20 national team for the 2021 World Cup hosted by Indonesia.
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Soccer Association of Indonesia (PSSI) chief Comr. Gen. Mochammad Iriawan (in green shirt) delivers a motivational speech to players of the senior national team and the U-19 squad during training on Aug. 15, 2020 at Madya Stadium of the Gelora Bung Karno Sports Complex in Central Jakarta. (JP/Courtesy of www.pssi.org)
T
he decision of three Liga 1 clubs to recruit Brazilian players has raised eyebrows amid the efforts of the Soccer Association of Indonesia (PSSI) to boost player performance, especially in preparing the U-19 team for next year's U-20 World Cup in Indonesia.
The major concern is speculation that these Brazilian players who meet the U-20 age requirement will become naturalized to play for the national squad at the U-20 World Cup. Many say that such a move would seriously damage morale among the young Indonesian players.
Critics have demanded the PSSI to rethink its strategy and prioritize local talents instead at the world-class event.
Ignatius Indro of the National Team Supporters Association is among the voices expressing regret over the Brazilians' recruitment, who said that, even as a fan, he would prefer that the national team be composed of Indonesian-born players instead of naturalized foreign players, no matter what the tournament's outcome.
“Actually, we don't have any reason to be discouraged [about the outcome]. We have plenty of excellent local players,” Indro told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.
He acknowledged that he would be fine with recruiting foreign players for the senior team, but doing so for the junior team had different consequences.
Indro has thus called on the PSSI to rethink the possibility of using naturalized players on the junior team to avoid seriously affecting the confidence of young Indonesian players and potentially harming their professional careers.
