The name Beckham Putra Nugraha immediately catches the eye, and it’s not by accident. His dad named him after David Beckham, the Manchester United and England legend, who in 2001 was at the peak of his powers.
Two decades on, the name Beckham is making waves once again, but not in Manchester, London, Los Angeles or Madrid. Instead, it’s from Bandung, where this young man is a member of one of the biggest club in Indonesia, Persib Bandung, but also on the journey of a lifetime with the Indonesian national team to qualify for the FIFA World Cup 26™.
“My dad is an avid Manchester United fan,” Putra told FIFA during an exclusive interview. “When I was born in 2001, David Beckham was at the top of his game. That’s where the inspiration for my name came from. But his first name was deliberately dropped, and I was named Beckham Putra Nugraha. It’s funny to think that my name was inspired by his favourite player.”
Putra was born and raised in a footballing family. His older brother, Gian Zola – another named inspired by a footballing legend – played professionally and was Beckham’s role model and first football buddy. Together, they built their dreams in Bandung, where the green pitches of Sidolig Stadium and Persib academy were their playground from from an early age.
“I come from a footballing family because my dad used to be a player too,” he said. “So I’ve been surrounded by football since I was little. Alhamdulillah, I made my family’s dream come true playing for Persib and the national team.”
His professional journey began in earnest at the Persib Bandung academy. There, he quickly caught the eye and when he joined the first-team squad he quickly won the hearts of coaches and supporters. The 23-year-old has been key to Persib winning the Indonesian Liga 1 championship the past two seasons – an achievement that cemented his status as one of Indonesia’s brightest young players.
“I’m very proud to have got this far, especially from the Persib academy,” he stated. “I’m proud of helping to win the cup two seasons in a row. I hope that I can make that a hat-trick with Persib.”
Putra’s international fame soared after helping Indonesia’s U-23 side win gold at the 2023 SEA Games. In a high-pressure tournament, he emerged as a calm and intelligent attacking midfielder, displaying maturity beyond his years. The call-up to the senior squad came this June, as Putra emerged from the bench during Indonesia’s World Cup 26 qualifying victory against China PR.
“Alhamdulillah, I’m grateful to have made my debut with the Indonesian national squad in the World Cup qualifiers,” he continued. “It’s a source of pride because it’s the result of my hard work at the club.
“I also want to thank coach Patrick [Kluivert] for putting his trust in me. I was also delighted to be able to represent Persib, because at that time I was the only player [in the squad] from [the] club. Hopefully, I’ll get called up to the senior national squad again.”
The Garuda have reached the fourth round of the Asian qualifiers, where they will meet Saudi Arabia and Iraq. While they’ve been place in a tricky group – in which the top side advance to the finals and the runners-up head to the fifth round – for Beckham, the challenge is not a reason to back down; it’s an incentive to do the best they can.
“After seeing the draw, we knew we would be facing strong teams like hosts Saudi Arabia and Iraq,” he said. “Of course, we hope to beat them. We’ll have tough opposition, but the most important thing is to focus on our own team. Whoever we’re playing against, we must be ready and try our best to win.”
His dream of playing in the World Cup is no longer just a dream. He now sees it as a realistic goal, following in the footsteps of Japan, the Asian giant that has already qualified to join hosts Mexico, Canada and the United States next year.
“It would be a dream come true for everyone in Indonesia if we qualified for the World Cup”, he concluded. “Bismillah, we will get the chance to qualify for the World Cup 2026. If Japan can do it, there’s hope for us too. This is the moment I’ve been waiting for, hopefully 2026 will be our year.”
