Jakarta -PSSI General Chairman Erick Thohir revealed the progress of the naturalization of the trio of players of mixed descent, Ole Romeny, Jairo Riedewald, and Mitchel Bakker, to the Indonesian National Team.
As is known, the Garuda squad will continue their struggle in the third round of the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers next March, so they will need additional ammunition to steal points in the remaining matches.
Ole Romeny, who has just joined Oxford United, has the potential to be the fastest player to transfer to the Indonesian National Team. This is because Erick Thohir claimed that the correspondence process regarding the player’s citizenship transfer is proceeding smoothly.
Meanwhile, Royal Antwerp player Jairo Riedewald, who is also being considered for the Garuda squad, is still being approached by PSSI. Erick has not yet dared to guarantee that the player can strengthen the Merah Putih squad in the match against Australia and Bahrain in March 2025.
“Hopefully, the paperwork process is more advanced compared to Jairo Riedewald,” said Erick Thohir at the PSSI press conference at Menara Danareksa, Central Jakarta, Monday (6/1/2025) afternoon WIB.
“We are also approaching Jairo Riedewald to join the national team.” “But whether he will be ready (for the match) in March, we’ll see,” added the man who also serves as the Minister of State-Owned Enterprises.
Mitchel Bakker Still Struggling
Unfortunately, regarding Mitchel Bakker, the PSSI Chairman revealed that the situation is still difficult. The reason is that they have not yet found the document stating that Bakker meets the FIFA qualifications for naturalization.
“If it’s Bakker, we have checked, it’s quite difficult because it doesn’t comply with FIFA regulations, which require either the parents or grandparents.” We are still looking for the letter, but we haven’t found the letter qualifying him according to FIFA regulations yet,” said Erick Thohir.
“I actually want him to be brought to the Indonesian National Team, (Bakker) is good, 189 cm tall, can also play as a midfielder,” added the PSSI Chairman.
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