Gunawan Dwi Cahyo Criticizes U-17 National Team Recruitment Process

Gunawan Dwi Cahyo and Ismed Sofyan, former Indonesian national team players, have expressed concerns about the U-17 national team recruitment process, as reported by Bolasport.com.

The recruitment program led by Simon Tahamata has come under scrutiny regarding the procedure for calling up players from abroad — this is considered inconsistent with standards that should go through head scouting.

“PSSI needs more competitions and should recruit quality players from domestic competitions,” stated Gunawan.

“In fact, these young diaspora players are not particularly exceptional compared to our local players,” he added.

The former Persija Jakarta player also highlighted the role of agents in the recruitment process — they are seen as prioritizing personal profit over national team achievement.