Football Institute Survey: Fans’ Satisfaction with Erick Thohir and Naturalized Players
JAKARTA – Indonesian football fans acknowledge the crucial role that naturalized players play in Indonesia’s journey towards the 2026 World Cup. Public optimism about Indonesia’s chances of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup remains high despite numerous challenges. However, 54.8 percent of respondents believe that achieving this goal would be difficult without the addition of quality naturalized players. This sentiment was captured in a survey conducted by the Football Institute.
Support for Naturalized Players and Performance Satisfaction
The survey, which utilized cluster random sampling with a margin of error of 2.83 percent and a confidence level of 95 percent, gathered responses from 1,200 individuals from 18 cities in Indonesia. The role of naturalized players in helping the Indonesian national team qualify for the 2026 World Cup was deemed significant. Without naturalized players, 54.8 percent of respondents expressed doubts about the Garuda Squad’s chances of qualifying for the world’s top football stage next year.
Regarding naturalization policies, 61.3 percent of supporters expressed their support for this initiative to strengthen the Garuda squad. The striker position was identified as the top priority, followed by midfielders and defenders, according to the survey findings. The survey was conducted while the Indonesian national team was still under the coaching of Shin Tae-yong, following the conclusion of the 2024 ASEAN Football Federation Championship.
Performance Evaluation of Erick Thohir and Shin Tae-yong
In relation to the 2024 AFF Championship, 46.8 percent of supporters were dissatisfied with the Garuda squad’s performance. Nonetheless, 18.5 percent of fans expressed satisfaction, with an additional 3.5 percent being very satisfied. Conversely, 5.6 percent viewed the team’s performance as very disappointing.
Regarding the performance of PSSI Chairman Erick Thohir, 69.8 percent of respondents expressed satisfaction, with 19.7 percent indicating they were very satisfied. Only 0.4 percent reported dissatisfaction with the performance of the PSSI’s top official. Respondents also expressed a desire for Thohir to improve the Indonesian football league, with 44.8 percent calling for enhancements to ensure the development of local players and reduce reliance on naturalized players.
The survey results also indicated that 55 percent of respondents believed that the performance of recently terminated coach Shin Tae Yong had improved the Indonesian national team. However, 18 percent felt that the outcomes were still unsatisfactory, particularly following the team’s failure at the 2024 AFF Championship.
For the Indonesian U-23 national team set to compete in the 2025 SEA Games, respondents displayed high confidence in Indonesia’s ability to retain the gold medal, with 80.3 percent expressing optimism, 11.1 percent being very confident, and only 8.5 percent expressing doubt.
