Sandy Pramuji & Wimbo Satwiko

Precious Emuejeraye, right, signed with Sriwijaya FC for a reported $1.3 million a year. He will join the club in November. (Photo: How Hwee Young, EPA)

Indonesian Clubs Snatch Up Singapore Football Stars

Almost 27 years after Fandi Ahmad and David Lee became the first Singaporeans to play in Indonesia, a new Singapore influx looks set to start.

Fandi, who now coaches Pelita Jaya, and Lee came to Surabaya, East Java, in 1982 to play for Niac Mitra in the former semi-professional Galatama, helping the club win the league title.

They left after the 1983 season as the Indonesian Football Association banned foreigners from playing in the country, but bringing in talent from Singapore’s S-League is now all the rage among Indonesian Super League clubs.

On the heels of striker Noh Alam Shah moving from Tampines Rovers to Arema Malang, Woodlands Wellington defender Precious Emuejeraye signed with Sriwijaya FC on Wednesday.

“[Woodlands] knows about this signing and have agreed to release Precious to Sriwijaya after his contract ends on November,” said Onana Jules, the player’s agent, on Thursday.

The 26-year-old is the first Asian player to sign for Sriwijaya, and coach Rahmad Darmawan has no problem with waiting.

“It’s hard to find Asian players, so it’s worth the wait. The ISL will start on Oct. 11, so I think he won’t miss much and, as a professional, I’m sure he could easily blend in with his new teammates,” Rahmad said.

Details of the transfer were undisclosed, but Indonesian media reported the defender would earn about Rp 1.3 billion per year.

Emuejeraye initially came to Singapore in 2002 to play for now-defunct Jurong FC. He moved to Young Lions after Jurong folded, and three years later he transferred to Gombak United before moving to Woodlands in 2008.

Emuejeraye, born in Nigeria, took Singaporean citizenship in 2005 and made his national team debut on Jan. 26, 2006.

“I’ve been playing in the S-League for seven years, and I think now it’s the right time to try something new, he told state-run news agency Antara. “Sriwijaya is a big Indonesian club, and they have won the domestic league and cups, so playing here will be a great challenge for me.”

Alam Shah and Emuejeraye could just be the start of a larger influx of talent from the S-League. Singapore internationals Baihakki Khaizan and Mustafic Fahrudin have been linked with moves to Arema and Persija Jakarta in the past few weeks.

Persija assistant manager Ferry Indrasjarief said club officials and both players met in Singapore on Wednesday.

“We talked with Baihakki in Singapore yesterday, and basically we have reached an agreement as he agreed to our offer,” Ferry said on Thursday. “I asked him about Arema, and he said he didn’t sign anything with that club.”

He also said Persija must reconsider its move for Fahrudin after the midfielder expressed a desire to stay at Tampines until his contract expires in December.

Arema spokeperson Sudarmadji said the club knew of Baihakki’s preference for Persija.

“We regret Baihakki’s decision to accept Persija’s offer as he had a gentleman’s agreement with Arema, and we’d been waiting for him to sign the contract in Malang,” he said. “But we have high hopes that Fahrudin will honor his deal with us, and we’ll wait for him until his contract expires.” ISL