Indonesia to naturalize six players

GOAL – JAKARTA, The Indonesian government will provide Indonesian citizenships for six foreign players so they can be naturalised for the remainder of their 2014 Fifa World Cup qualifying campaign.

Former technical director of the Indonesian national team Iman Arif said that all of them were able to directly strengthen the squad for their 2014 World Cup qualifiers although October 11’s home clash with Qatar would come too soon.

“In the game against Qatar, they can not play. But in November they can strengthen the squad,” Iman told kompas.com.

Four of the players are the descendants of Dutch origin, namely Tonnie Cusell, Stefano Lilipaly, John van Beukering, and Sergio van Dijk.

As for the other two players, they originate from Nigeria and currently play in Indonesian League, namely Greg Nwokolo (Persija Jakarta) and Victor Chuckwuekezie Igbonefo (Persipura Jayapura).

According to Iman, all players have been eligible to become part of the Indonesia national team.

Stefano Lilipaly, for example, could be considered the mainstay of the Indonesian national team midfield. Now the 21-year-old player was playing for FC Utrecht.

Sergio van Dijk’s presence can also strengthen the attacking side, because he had twice become the top scorer in Australia’s A-League.

“But it all depends on the coach, whether they go to the national team or not,” Iman said.

He added, that all players will be sworn in as citizens at the latest on October 10, a week later they could get their identity cards and passports.

“But the oath depends on the arrival of the player, as Sergio van Dijk, he had to go to Indonesia from Australia to complete the naturalisation process. It can take time,” Iman said.