Indonesian women's football is also on the move. While the men have already managed to recruit players like Thom Haye, Maarten Paes and Kevin Diks, they have now also secured Isa Warps for the women. The 19-year-old from Eindhoven has officially received her football passport and can make her debut for Garuda Pertiwi, Indonesia's national team, at the end of June.
'It feels like I won the lottery'
Warps can now proudly shout it from the rooftops. But how did the Indonesian football federation actually find her? It started with a phone call from Debby Lim, an intermediary who recruits players for the national team.
"She called me asking if my grandmother was Indonesian, but I said my great-grandmother came from Indonesia. She told me that unfortunately it didn't apply to me and hung up."
It was her father who Isa checked with to be sure. And what turned out?
"My grandmother was born in Padang on Sumatra. I immediately called Debby back and before I knew it, I was allowed to fly to Indonesia to finalize the paperwork. It really feels like I won the lottery. This is really an opportunity I wanted to grab with both hands."
Thanks to Ulis
But how did Lim find Warps? For that, we have to go back about two months. During a futsal friendly against ADO Den Haag, the ball started rolling. Warps caught the attention of Ulis van Maanen.
"Right after the match, he asked, almost as a joke, if anyone in the hall had Indonesian roots. I raised my hand and he passed on my name."
After that came the mentioned phone call and the Eindhoven native was allowed to board the plane, together with Felicia de Zeeuw (ADO Den Haag) and Iris de Rouw (Sparta). For Warps, it is the first time she's traveled outside Europe.
Jakarta: a new world
"The people here are really very friendly and gentle," she says from her hotel room in Jakarta. "All communication is in English, I don't speak the language. But we are well taken care of, they have arranged everything down to the last detail so that we can complete everything properly here."
"Football, but also women's football, is really huge here," she continues. "Just because of the rumors that I would play for Indonesia, I gained almost a thousand followers."
Debut in sight
In total, Indonesia has managed to recruit eight Dutch players in this way. At the end of June, Warps can make her debut against Kyrgyzstan. Countries she knew at most from the atlas until recently, she can now discover on and off the field.
"Isn't that great? That you can combine what you have a passion for with seeing other parts of the world?"
By Maarten Elst – May 29, 2025
