WAN OGRI TYARI wan bun. Something positive can come from the bad. This well-known saying seems to apply to the recent development in Surinamese football. This newspaper has repeatedly argued for (more) local players in regional competitions. But successive national coaches did not listen to that. In the men’s selection – Natio – a maximum of three local players were called up for training as a bonus, but in the end they were left out of the selection.
It was no different in the women’s selection. Only diaspora players were initially fielded for qualifying matches for the 2027 World Cup in Brazil and the match flow was mixed.
Until Friday and the SVB got its money’s worth. Then only local players performed in the Franklin Essed Stadium in the meeting against Belize. The SVB played on this safe since questions were raised about the legality of footballers in diaspora. It started with a nationality issue of an Indonesian-born player who plays for the Dutch Go Ahead Eagles. He chose to play for the national selection of his native country.
There were then calls that in cases like this, players who are in a similar position – think of the diaspora of Suriname – should have a work permit to play football in the Netherlands, because they would have lost their Dutch nationality by playing for their country of origin, or at least where their roots lie. Ultimately, the player around whom it started received ‘dispensation’ from the Dutch football association KNVB. But the dark clouds remain hanging over other diaspora players, including those representing Suriname.
In this light, the SVB has chosen not to field diaspora players (in this case for women’s football) until there is clarity. This will eventually also apply to the men’s selection, but that is not an option for the time being, because there are no international or regional competitions scheduled in the coming months. The association writes that the nationality issue will be further assessed in consultation with legal experts and the relevant authorities and that the interests of the players are central.
It was proven on Friday that drafting (more) local players – whether men or women – is worth a try. The Surinamese selection played a good first half – despite less than optimal preparation – and half time went into the game without any goals being scored. In the end, Suriname lost the match 0-2 and the women’s World Cup dream was shattered – just like it was for the men. For the time being, it will only be in place for the SVB until the lawyers have been resolved.
