Indonesia, Paes and Romeny: Two Legal Dossiers and a New Naturalisation Race in Southeast Asia

In August 2026, when Maarten Paes completed his federation transfer from the Netherlands to Indonesia, most regional coverage carried a single short line: the goalkeeper born in 2026 had been approved by FIFA. Four months later, Ole Romeny took the oath of Indonesian citizenship in February 2026. Two names, two entirely different positions — a goalkeeper and a centre-forward.

What made me pause when rereading the reports from Jakarta was not where they play, or what their contracts are worth. It was how the Indonesian press framed the question: do these two players have "indigenous blood" or not. Some articles used the phrases "exceptional case" and "legal loophole", as if the two had just found a crack to slip through.

The legal reality of this dossier is far simpler than the way it is told.

Two doors, both already open

To understand why Indonesia can call up both Paes and Romeny, one must separate two entirely different legal doors — and both have been opened through proper procedure.

The first door is Indonesian citizenship law, specifically Article 20 of Law No. 12/2026, which permits naturalisation on grounds of "state interest", provided it is approved by the House of Representatives (DPR). This is an administrative and political route, not a sporting one.

The second door is FIFA's regulation on eligibility to represent a national team, under which a player must have a parent or biological grandparent born on the territory of the federation they wish to represent. This criterion exists precisely so that federations can tap their own historical diaspora communities.

Paes previously represented the Netherlands at U21 level, so he had to go through a federation transfer — a procedure permitted only once in an entire career, and FIFA approved his. Romeny took a different route: he swore the oath to obtain Indonesian citizenship first, then became eligible under FIFA rules.

Both passed through both doors. And neither door requires a player to have "indigenous blood".

This is the point most regional analysis skips. Eligible does not mean indigenous. Those are two different concepts, and only one of them is written into law.

A pipeline Vietnam cannot easily replicate

For Indonesia, this is not just the story of two players. It is a pipeline.

The Dutch East Indies left behind a diaspora community of European origin, including the "blijvers" — settlers who stayed long-term — and their descendants. Many of them hold exactly the document FIFA requires: a grandparent born on Indonesian territory, even though they themselves carry a European passport.

This is what Vietnam cannot fully replicate. The diaspora structure under the French differed from that under the Dutch. Vietnam has a large diaspora, but the pipeline of footballers who grew up in Europe is far thinner than the Indo-Dutch one. In other words, Indonesia holds a historical resource for which its neighbours have no equivalent.

Paes and Romeny are not random names. They fill exactly the two highest-leverage positions in a squad: goalkeeper and centre-forward.

Based on my experience following matches and training sessions, a goalkeeper who holds the goal steady has a stabilising effect on the entire back line — where familiarity is usually low because centre-backs only play together a few times a year. And a centre-forward is the end point of every attacking move; he is the one who turns pressure into goals. Reinforcing the spine delivers more value than reinforcing the flanks.

PSSI clearly understands this. The fact that they pursued Paes's dossier over many months, even years, shows this is a calculated strategy, not a reactive move.

A cost that never appears on the balance sheet

But one thing must be said plainly, something regional coverage tends to skim over: Indonesia is strengthening its national team with a finite resource.

The colonial-era diaspora is a closed historical set. There are no new arrivals. When the pipeline runs dry, it runs dry completely. This is not a sustainable strategy in the repeatable sense — it can run once in history, and then Indonesia is forced to pivot back to domestic development.

A second risk is mentioned less often: importing already-developed players can reduce the standing of domestically developed ones. Every forward slot given to Romeny is one slot fewer for a player raised in the domestic league. This is not wrong under the law, but it is a real cost — one that simply never appears on any balance sheet.

There is a third risk, reputational in nature. When the press calls a fully legal player an "exceptional case" or a "loophole", it plants a doubt with no legal basis. If Indonesia's national team falters, that doubt will flare, and the pressure will fall on the two players rather than on the system.

And this is the point I consider most important for Vietnamese football: if Indonesia builds its national team by import, Vietnam may have to compete along the opposite path — team cohesion. Slower. More expensive. But more durable, and not dependent on a resource that will run out.

Two signals to watch

Two signals deserve attention in the coming call-up windows: whether PSSI secures further DPR approvals, and whether FIFA comes under pressure to narrow the grandparent criterion as more ASEAN federations run the same playbook.

As for Vietnam, the question is not whether to naturalise.

The question is: do we have enough patience not to need to.