KBRN, Jakarta: Lommel SK Belgian club defensive midfielder Joey Pelupessy is undergoing the process of becoming an Indonesian citizen and defending the Indonesian national team in the third round of the 2026 World Cup Asian Qualifiers.

Joey, the anchor of Lommel SK, has Indonesian Maluku descent from his grandparents as quoted by antaranews.com. He was born in Almelo, the Netherlands, on May 15, 1993, and began his soccer career with SVVN Nijverdal.

After making an impression there, Joey moved to the FC Twente academy in 2004. At the academy, Joey showed promising performances starting from FC Twente U-17, U-19, U-21 and breaking through to the senior team in 2013.

However, his contract at FC Twente did not last long, and Joey left for Heracles Almelo in the 2014 season. At Heracles, Joey recorded a total of 119 matches, scoring a total of five goals and six assists.

Joey's career in the Netherlands then continued in England. The Championship team Sheffield Wednesday signed Joey in 2018.

In a Sheffield Wednesday shirt, Joey scored one goal and made three assists in 119 appearances in all competitions from the 2018 to 2021 seasons.

Joey then moved to Turkish club Girensunspor, making a total of 22 appearances in the 2021-2022 period.

Joey then returned to the Netherlands to defend FC Groningen in the 2022 season. Although he was trusted as captain, Joey decided to leave for the Belgian club Lommel SK in the winter transfer market of 2025.

Joey has now made five appearances and one assist for Lommel in the Challenger Pro League. He is expected to be able to wear the Garuda uniform in the third round of the 2026 World Cup Asian Qualifiers which take place in March. ***