Bangalore: Renowned Scottish club Rangers FC announced Wednesday the signing of woman’s national team forward Bala Devi, a first in Indian football.
Subject to international clearance, the 29-year-old will join the club on an 18-month deal after a successful spell on trial at Rangers in November.
This will make Bala the first Indian woman to become a professional footballer anywhere in the world and she also becomes Rangers’ first Asian international footballer.
Bala is the current top scorer for the Indian team. She has scored 52 goals in 58 games since 2010, which also makes her the top international goal scorer in the South Asian region.
Bala has also served as national team captain in a distinguished international career, which began when she was called up aged just 15. She has a prolific record at the domestic level with over 100 goals in 120 games. She has been the top scorer in the Indian Women’s League (IWL) for the past two seasons and has also been named as AIFF’s ‘Women’s Player of the Year’ twice, in 2015 and 2016.
“To play my football in Europe with one of the biggest clubs in the world is something I could never have dreamed of. I hope my move to Rangers serves as an example to all the women footballers back home in India who dream of taking up the sport professionally,” Bala said in a statement Wednesday.
“I’m looking forward to making the most of the top-class facilities and coaching and I am certain I will benefit immensely from the standard of training and competition. I’m very grateful to Amy McDonald, the coaching staff and the entire management at Rangers for believing in me. Also, this move wouldn’t have been possible without Bengaluru FC who have been instrumental throughout,” she added.
McDonald, women’s and girls’ football manager at Rangers FC said: “We are thrilled to welcome Bala to Rangers. She is an exciting signing on so many levels. Bala is a playmaker who likes to play as a number 10 and we believe she will contribute goals and assists to the team. She will provide us with an attacking threat and a versatility that we can utilise.”
Bala’s arrival in Glasgow has been possible thanks to the network that has been provided through the club’s partnership with Bengaluru FC that was announced in September 2019.
PTI