Indonesian U16 women's national football team coach Timo Scheunemann reminded young footballers to be more serious and consistent in their training, as competition to break into the Srikandi squad is certain to be increasingly fierce.
He believes the opportunities will become more competitive, due to the increasing number of talented players who continue to develop and high-standard tournaments for each age group.
"So, I hope every player doesn't miss the opportunity in every tournament to become more serious about developing their career," said the man often called Coach Timo while monitoring the U15 and U18 category matches in the Hydroplus Soccer League All-Stars 2025/2026 at the Supersoccer Arena, Kudus Regency.
According to him, the situation is different from several years ago when the number of female players was still limited so that the choice of players for the national team for both age groups and seniors was not as extensive as it is now.
He explained that improving the quality and quantity of players creates healthier competition. Therefore, every player must maintain consistent training if they want to remain competitive for a place on the national team.
Coach Timo gave an example regarding the selection of U16 national team players to face the Srikandi Merdeka Cup on August 14-23, 2026. This moment will provide a greater opportunity for the players to appear for the country.
The coaching team plans to prepare two squads, each containing 23 players, so that a total of around 46 players have the opportunity to wear the U16 women's national team uniform at the upcoming Srikandi Merdeka Cup.
The development in player quality and quantity, he continued, is inseparable from the ongoing youth competitions over the past 10 months, which have allowed players to gain regular playing time.
