THEY ARE EXCITING days, especially for the technical staff of the national football selection of Suriname. It is possible that national coach Henk Fraser and general manager Brian Satisfied with knowing exactly how they are doing this week. It is clear that time is running out and that it is not yet clear whether Suriname can have the diaspora players at its disposal.
That uncertainty has to do with what was renamed the ‘passport gate’. Players who took another passport to play football for another country lost their Dutch citizenship unless they were married to a Dutch woman. It started with a Dutch footballer with Indonesian roots, about whom questions were asked about his eligibility to play. It didn’t take long before the ‘spot’ spread to the National internationals. Certain clubs did not take a chance and placed the players on inactive status.
“Parliament therefore has the thankless task of approving a bill that is impossible to get through”
In the meantime, matters in the Dutch competition seem to have been resolved, but who’s to say that drafting the players at Natio will not again raise questions and lead to actions by clubs. Suriname therefore decided to work on its legislation, so that football players can put on the uniform without worrying about their life in the Netherlands.
After discussions and consultations, the ball is in the court of the National Assembly, where on Monday (today) the substantive public discussion of the draft law on the further amendment of the Surinamership and Residency Act of 24 November 1975 must take place. This could not happen on Thursday, because the initiators had submitted “additional insights and points of interest” to Parliament and will submit an amendment to the bill.
However, every day of uncertainty creates an uncomfortable situation for Natio’s technical staff. The new national coach believes that he is taking various scenarios into account, but he would like to have clarity sooner rather than later.
On the other hand, rush work should be avoided. It is therefore important that parliamentarians are given the time to do their work properly and that the bill is not rushed through, because then the country can eventually get its puppets dancing again. In the meantime, others are also making themselves heard, because the central focus now seems to be on football (sport), while there are also other sections of society.
This is clearly not a matter to be done overnight. When it comes to legislation, legal angels must also be taken into account. Parliament therefore has the thankless task of approving a bill that cannot be passed. With that in mind, it might be wise for Fraser and Tevreden to have a plan B together with the SVB, because September 25 is coming.
