How Isa Warps (19) from Eindhoven suddenly got the chance to play for Indonesia
Eindhoven/Jakarta – Indonesia’s women’s football is on the move. Just like the men’s team — which already secured players such as Thom Haye, Maarten Paes, and Kevin Diks — the women’s team has now landed Isa Warps. The 19-year-old from Eindhoven has officially received her football passport and could make her debut for Garuda Pertiwi at the end of June.
“It feels like I’ve won the lottery”
Beaming with pride, Warps can now shout it from the rooftops. But how did the Indonesian football federation actually find her? It started with a call from Debby Lim, an intermediary recruiting players for the national team.
“She called asking whether my grandmother was Indonesian, and I said my great-grandmother was from Indonesia. She told me that unfortunately it didn’t count and then hung up.”
Just to be sure, Isa checked with her father — and discovered a crucial detail.
“My grandmother was born in Padang, on the island of Sumatra. I called Debby back immediately and before I knew it I could fly to Indonesia to finish the paperwork. It really feels like I’ve won the lottery. This is an opportunity I wanted to grab with both hands.”
Thanks to Ulis
How did Lim come across Warps in the first place? Go back about two months: during an indoor friendly against ADO Den Haag, the ball started rolling. Warps caught the eye of Ulis van Maanen.
“Right after the match he jokingly asked if anyone had Indonesian roots. I raised my hand, and he passed my name along.”
Soon after, the decisive phone call followed and the Eindhoven native boarded a plane to Indonesia together with Felicia de Zeeuw (ADO Den Haag) and Iris de Rouw (Sparta). For Warps, it is her first time outside Europe.
“People here are incredibly friendly and kind,” she says from her hotel room in Jakarta. “All communication is in English because I don’t speak the language. We’re being taken care of so well — everything has been arranged down to the last detail so we can complete the process properly.”
“Football — including the women’s game — is huge here,” she adds. “Just the rumors that I’d play for Indonesia brought me nearly a thousand new followers.”
Debut on the horizon
In total, Indonesia has recruited eight Dutch-born players in this way. At the end of June, Warps could make her debut against Kyrgyzstan. Countries she once only knew from an atlas she will now discover on and off the pitch.
“Isn’t that amazing? That you can combine your passion with seeing other parts of the world?”
By Maarten Elst – May 29, 2025, 09:32
Last update: May 29, 2025, 10:58
