Elkan William Tio Baggott (born 23 October 2002) is a professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who plays as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

for

EFL Championship The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the E ...

club

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn professio ...

, and the Indonesia national team. Born in

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

and raised in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, Baggott represents his mother's country of

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

, where he first learned to play football as a child.

Early life

Baggott was born in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populatio ...

, to an Indonesian mother and an English father and chose to represent

internationally. Baggott attended the

British School Jakarta The British School of Jakarta (BSJ) is an independent school in Pondok Aren, South Tangerang in Greater Jakarta, Indonesia. The British School of Jakarta is an international member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. It was esta ...

in 2008. He learned to play football at the Soccer School Jakarta and was appointed as captain for his British International School squad. His family eventually decided to settle in England in 2011.

Club career

Ipswich Town

Having joined

on a two-year scholarship in 2019, Baggott made his senior debut for the club on 6 October 2020, in a 2–0 victory over Gillingham in the

EFL Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL ...

. On 28 January 2021, Baggott penned his first professional contract with Ipswich, signing a two-and-a-half-year contract with the option of an additional year's extension. On 16 April 2022, he became the first Indonesian player to play in an English professional league when he appeared for Ipswich Town in an EFL League One match against

Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The club's colours were initially yellow and black, but changed to red and white around ...

. Baggott signed a new three-year deal with the club in June 2022.

King's Lynn Town (loan)

On 22 March 2021, Baggott joined

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

side King's Lynn Town on a youth loan for the remainder of the 2020–21 season. He made his debut for the club on 23 March 2021, playing 90 minutes in a 3–0 loss to

Altrincham Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester city centre, southwest of Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2011 Census, it had a population o ...

Gillingham (loan)

On 8 July 2022, Baggott joined

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Le ...

club Gillingham on a season-long loan deal. He made his league debut for the club on 30 July 2022 in a 2–0 away loss to

AFC Wimbledon AFC Wimbledon is an English professional football club, based in Merton, London, that plays in the EFL League Two, after being relegated from the EFL League One following the 2021–22 season. The club's home stadium is Plough Lane. The cl ...

. On 15 October 2022, Baggott scored his first goal for Gillingham against

Stevenage Stevenage ( ) is a large town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, about north of London. Stevenage is east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1(M), between Letchworth Garden City to the north and Welwyn Garden City to the south. In 1946, Ste ...

. He was the first Indonesian player to score in English football.

Cheltenham Town (loan)

In January 2023, Baggott was recalled from his loan at Gillingham and joined League One club

Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. From the 2021–22 season, the club compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league sy ...

on loan until the end of the season.

International career

Baggott has played for Indonesia at the under-19 level. He won his first cap for the under-19 team on 11 October 2020 in a friendly against North Macedonia U19. He received a call to join the senior

Indonesian national football team The Indonesia national football team ( id, Tim nasional sepak bola Indonesia) represents Indonesia in international association football. It was the first Asian team to participate in the FIFA World Cup, particularly in the 1938 edition as Du ...

in May 2021 but rejected it due to COVID-19 travel restrictions. On 22 October 2021, the Chief of

PSSI The Football Association of Indonesia ( id, Persatuan Sepakbola Seluruh Indonesia; 'All-Indonesian Football Association'; abbreviated as PSSI) is the governing body of football in Indonesia. It was founded on 19 April 1930, fifteen years befor ...

, Mochamad Iriawan, stated that Baggott had refused to play for Indonesia after rejecting multiple call-ups. Baggott immediately sent a letter to PSSI explaining his absence and his willingness to accept the next call-up, citing the fact that the COVID-19 situation in

the United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and

have been much better. Iriawan openly accepted his explanation three days later. On 16 November 2021, he made his debut for the senior team in a

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

against

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bord ...

. He played for 68 minutes and was substituted by Victor Igbonefo due to a concussion head injury, which resulted in a

Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world an ...

mandatory 14 day 'no footballing activity' recuperation period. Baggott was cleared to play again on 2 December 2021, after a neurological MRI scan concluded no lasting damage. On 12 December 2021, Baggott made his senior team competitive debut against Laos in the

AFF Suzuki Cup The ASEAN Football Federation Championship (less formally the AFF Championship or AFF Cup), currently known as the AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup for sponsorship reason, is the primary association football tournament organized by the ASEAN Football ...

, played in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

, in which Indonesia won the match 5–1. He scored his first goal for the national team on 19 December 2021, netting a header for the last goal of a 4–1 win against

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

. Baggott again represented the senior national team at an AFC Finals qualification competition in Kuwait from 8 to 14 June. Baggott played in all 3 matches versus

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the no ...

(won 2–1),

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Ri ...

(lost 1–0) and

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is ma ...

(won 7–0). This performance helped Indonesia secure qualification for the

Asian Cup The AFC Asian Cup is the primary association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), determining the continental champion of Asia. It is the second oldest cont ...

being played in the summer of 2023. Baggott scored his 2nd international goal in the 7–0 win over Nepal. Baggott was named in the provisional Indonesia squad for the

2022 AFF Championship The 2022 AFF Championship (officially AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2022 due to sponsorship reasons) was the 14th edition of the AFF Championship, the football championship of nations affiliated to the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) and was the ...

but chose instead to stay with Gillingham during the busy December–January period of fixtures and with the Kent side bottom of

at the time of his call up. Baggott was once again called up for the Indonesia squad for two friendlies against

Burundi Burundi (, ), officially the Republic of Burundi ( rn, Repuburika y’Uburundi ; Swahili: ''Jamuhuri ya Burundi''; French: ''République du Burundi'' ), is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley at the junction between the African Gr ...

on 25 and 28 March 2023. On 27 May 2023, Baggott received a call-up for the friendly matches against

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East J ...

and

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, t ...

Career statistics

Club

International

International goals

International under-23 goals International senior goals

Honours

Indonesia *

AFF Championship The ASEAN Football Federation Championship (less formally the AFF Championship or AFF Cup), currently known as the AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup for sponsorship reason, is the primary association football tournament organized by the ASEAN Footbal ...

runner-up:

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in ...

References

External links

Elkan Baggott
at Ipswich Town *
Elkan Baggott
at PSSI {{DEFAULTSORT:Baggott, Elkan 2002 births Elkan Baggott Living people Indo people Indonesian men's footballers Indonesia men's international footballers Indonesia men's youth international footballers English men's footballers British Asian footballers Indonesian people of Chinese descent Indonesian people of English descent English people of Chinese descent English people of Indonesian descent Elkan Baggott Elkan Baggott Elkan Baggott Men's association football defenders Ipswich Town F.C. players King's Lynn Town F.C. players Gillingham F.C. players Cheltenham Town F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players Indonesian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England Indonesian expatriate sportspeople in England