DPR Approves Eliano Reijnders and Mees Hilgers to Become Indonesian Citizens

Jakarta, Todaysgist.com – Commission III of the DPR has approved a proposal to grant Indonesian citizenship to two Dutch football players, Eliano Johannes Reijnders Lekatompessy and Mees Victor Joseph Hilgers, so that they can join the Indonesian National Football Team.

“Do all my friends agree?” asked Deputy Chairman of Commission III of the DPR, Pangeran Khairul Saleh, at the Parliament Complex, Jakarta, on Tuesday (17/9/2024), which was then answered with agreement by the meeting participants.

The naturalization proposal was approved after being submitted by the Minister of Youth and Sports (Menpora) Dito Ariotedjo together with PSSI representatives in a working meeting at the Parliament Complex. This decision is based on Presidential Letter Number R-47/Pres/09/2024 and R-48/Pres/09/2024.

Minister of Law and Human Rights (Menkumham) Supratman Andi Agtas, who was present at the meeting, stated that all documents related to the naturalization application had been checked in accordance with applicable regulations.

Dito explained that the two athletes, known as Eliano Reijnders and Mees Hilgers, are 23 years old and have Indonesian ancestry on their mothers’ sides. Eliano’s mother and grandfather were born in Jakarta, while Mees’ grandfather was born in Ambon. Both are players who play in the defensive line.

According to Dito, the decision to apply for naturalization of the two athletes was taken by considering the projection of athlete development in the short and long term. “Empowering athletes is important in the short term, especially for the preparation of the 2024 FIFA World Cup,” said Dito.

Elino Reijnders is the younger brother of AC Milan player and Dutch international Tijjani Reinders. Tijjani moved to the Italian club from AZ in 2023 and has made 17 appearances for the Netherlands.

Mees Hilgers was once offered to undergo naturalization to become an Indonesian player in late 2023 but refused. At that time, he said Mees Hilgers explained that he was still open to defending the Indonesian National Team in the future, but for the near future he thought it was impossible.

At that time he admitted that he had made contact with PSSI. “It might be a bit too early to decide on Indonesia’s choice, However, everything can happen quickly. In football, you don’t know what will happen,” Hilgers was quoted as saying by RTV Oost at that time. Now he has been approved as an Indonesian citizen.

PSSI admitted that it will try as soon as possible to ensure that both of them have Indonesian citizenship so that they can appear in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, third round of Group C against Bahrain and China on 10 and 15 October.