Indonesian Championship side Deltras FC made national history on August 11 by announcing the signing of Turkish centre-back Göktuğ Demiroğlu — the first player from Turkey to feature in Indonesia’s professional leagues.
While Turkish footballers have long built a reputation as dependable performers across Europe, it’s relatively rare to see them playing outside the continent. A handful, such as Merih Demiral (Al-Ahli, Saudi Arabia), Ravil Tagil (Al-Jazira, UAE), Serdar Dursun (Persepolis, Iran), and Deniz Hummet (Gamba Osaka, Japan), currently ply their trade in Asia. Past Turkish greats like İlhan Mansız (Vissel Kobe), Alpay Özalan (Urawa Red Diamonds), and Burak Yılmaz (Beijing Guoan) also tried their luck in Asian leagues.
In Southeast Asia, however, Turkish players are even more of a rarity — and those who have made the leap often have one particular Filipino club to thank for opening the door.
In 2022, Dynamic Herb Cebu, founded by Filipino-based Turkish businessman Ugur Tasci, forged a partnership with then-Süper Lig outfit Hatayspor. Although the collaboration was disrupted by the devastating 2023 earthquake that struck Hatay Province and its surrounding regions, it still enabled several Hatayspor youth players to gain first-team experience in Southeast Asia. It also gave Cebu access to a wider scouting network for Turkish and Turkic-descent players across Europe.
Young attacking midfielder Mert Altınoz and striker Arda Cinkir were the first to make the jump, moving directly from Hatayspor’s junior squad to Cebu’s senior team for the 2022/23 campaign, where both quickly established themselves as key players.
The following season saw a new wave of arrivals: no-nonsense defender Demiroğlu, Turkish-Dutch goalkeeper Yusuf Cekic, and right winger Devrim Yanik. Unlike Altınoz and Cinkir, these three did not move straight from Hatayspor — though Yanik had spent time with their U-19 side — but instead joined from lower-league clubs in Spain, the Netherlands, and Turkey, experiencing mixed fortunes in the Philippines.
Yanik and Cekic stayed on for the 2024/25 season, while Demiroğlu briefly departed before returning mid-way through the campaign. Another Turkish recruit, Berke Önde, joined from Hatayspor, but by season’s end only Cekic and Demiroğlu remained, with Yanik and Önde leaving in the mid-season transfer window.
Now, with experience from the Philippines Football League, Copa Paulino Alcantara, and the AFC Cup under his belt, Demiroğlu has embarked on a new challenge — anchoring Deltras’ backline as they push for promotion to the top flight for the first time since 2011/12. If successful, he could well blaze a trail for more young Turkish players to venture beyond their comfort zone and explore one of Asia’s most promising emerging football markets.