“One of our own!”: Australian footballer Ryan Williams is set to play for the Indian national team after receiving his Indian passport
- Anweshan Ghosh
- Nov 8
- 2 min read
Australian-born Ryan Williams is set to play for the Indian national team after receiving his Indian passport from the Blue Tigers’ skipper, Sunil Chhetri. This marks the beginning of AIFF including OCI players in Indian football, quite a landmark moment for the Indian football fans.
Before handing over the passport to Williams, Chhetri quizzed him about Indian pop culture and food, to which the Bengaluru FC forward responded cheerfully, declaring himself as “one of your own”.
Williams’ experience as a player has taken him across top leagues in the world. He has played for Portsmouth, Fulham, Gillingham, Oxford United, Barnsley, and Rotherham United in the United Kingdom. In 2022, he moved to Perth Glory in Australia before joining Bengaluru FC in 2023.
The 32-year-old forward is likely to play as a winger in the national team and is a huge upgrade over players like Liston Colaco, Manvir Singh and Udanta Singh, who often look clueless in front of goal. Having a player like Ryan Williams in the team also helps the youngsters learn a lot from him and develop into stars.
Williams completed the procedure of becoming an Indian citizen with support from his family, friends, the Karnataka State Association president and JSW, securing approvals from ministers sitting in Delhi. The 32-year-old has roots in this country via his mother, who was born into an Anglo-Indian family in Mumbai.
The forward has joined the Indian camp ahead of the upcoming AFC Asian Cup qualifiers clash against Bangladesh. His inclusion offers more threat in front of goal and sharpness, which the team lacked before.
With Sunil Chhetri presenting the Indian passport to Williams, he might have also passed on his spot to his teammate, as it could be him who can fill the void of the 40-year-old and mark the beginning of something special in Indian football.
Comments