Renowned Scottish giants Rangers FC made the announcement of signing India National Team attacker Bala Devi. With this, Bala Devi has scripted history by becoming the first Indian woman footballer to grab a professional contract from a foreign club. The 29-year-old forward from Manipur has also emerged as the first Asian international footballer in the Glasgow-based team’s roster.
On Wednesday, Rangers took to twitter to announce Bala's joining:
The club said in a statement, "Rangers are delighted to announce the signing of India National Team attacker Bala Devi from Manipur Police Sports Club, subject to international clearance. The 29-year-old joins the club on an 18-month-deal after a successful spell on trial at Rangers in November”.
On achieving this feat, Bala expressed her elation, "I am very happy and looking forward, Now, I just have to give my 100 percent and make India proud”.
“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”, she added.
“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”, she concluded.
Bala is currently the top-scorer for the Indian national women’s team, netting 52 times in 58 games since 2010. He has had an illustrious career at the domestic level with over 100 goals in 120 games. She has also been named as All India Football Federation (AIFF) Women's Player of the Year twice, in 2015 and 2016.
