The championship side of English football, Oxford United Football Club, has experienced a surge in social media engagement, gaining over 100,000 new followers on Instagram within 24 hours.
The increase followed the announcement of Indonesian young star Marselino Ferdinan, joining the team on Monday, pushing the followership to over 178,000 on Tuesday.
PUNCH Online reports that Ferdinan’s massive following of four million on Instagram, combined with his popularity in Asia and Belgium, substantially boosted the club’s online presence.
Ferdinan was a key player for the Indonesian U-23 team, who reached the semifinals of the 2024 AFC U-23 Championship and led Indonesia to the Olympic playoffs against Guinea in Paris last May.
According to a statement, Ferdinan promised to give his all and make the most of this opportunity.
The statement read, “I’m thrilled and still can’t believe I’m here. Being the first Indonesian-born player to play in the Championship if selected fills me with immense pride. I won’t take this opportunity for granted, and I’ll give 100% to make the most of it.
“My message to everyone is to keep supporting the team and know I’ll do my best to compete and represent this club.”
The 19-year-old forward arrived in Oxford with 26 caps for his country and three goals, and last year helped Indonesia Under-22s win the Southeast Asian Games for the first time in 32 years.
Ferdinan also holds the record as the youngest international goalscorer in Indonesia, and this year became the youngest goalscorer in the Asian Cup finals round history.
Ferdinand was signed alongside right-back, Hidde ter Avest, on free transfers.
Ter Avest, 27, has joined on a “long-term contract” having not been offered a new deal by Eredivisie club FC Utrecht.
Indonesia International Marselino, 19, spent last season with KMSK Deinze in Belgium. He has three goals in 26 appearances for his country.
The pair were the club’s 13th and 14th signings of the summer transfer window.
According to the statement, Head Coach, Des Buckingham, said, “Marselino is a young exciting player. The games we have watched and reports of him from Asia are that he is one of the best young players coming through, so it’s an opportunity to have him in here and be a part of what we do.
“Having worked in Asia already, I know the depth of potential talent that can be unearthed there, and I am looking forward to having him in the building to see how he progresses.
“Marselino has lots of attributes that we look for in a player and a person, and we can see he has a real desire to want to improve and take this opportunity.”
On the other hand, Head of Football Operations, Ed Waldron, said, “Marselino is a very exciting and promising young player, and we are excited to see how he develops in our group.
“The Club has strong ties with Indonesia, and through our continuous conversations, we were made aware of Marselino’s ability.
“While unproven at this level, it is clear that Marselino is extremely talented with good international experience, and it will be exciting to see how he adapts to life at Oxford United.
“We have a fantastic environment at the Training Ground, and we feel it’s the perfect opportunity for Marselino to test his abilities and develop alongside the experience we have in his position.”
