Reigning V. League Best Blocker Jaja Santiago is in the process of acquiring Japanese Citizenship. She might miss the action as part of the Philippine team in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games.
The upcoming Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia is set to happen in May 2023. Just a few months before the biennial event, the Philippines women’s national team Head Coach Jorge Souza de Brito revealed that Jaja Santiago is acquiring Japanese Citizenship.
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“I don’t think so because she has started the process for [Japanese] citizenship. I don’t think she can play for our national team. When she finishes the process there in Japan, she can play for the national team for Japan,” Coach Jorge Souza de Brito shared in a press briefing.
Santiago has been playing for the Saitama Aego Medics since 2018 and last played for the Philippines during the 31st SEA Games in Hanoi Vietnam.
According to FIBV, a player who establishes residence in the new country for a minimum of two continuous years can change his/her Federation of Origin as long as the player’s old and new Federation agrees to the change.
