One is a Kathmandu-born centre-back. The other is a winger born and raised in Perth. One had a journeyman career, covering South America, Europe and Africa. The other stayed in the UK for ten years, playing for clubs such as Portsmouth and Fulham, before appearing for Australia. One of them is currently plying his trade in the Bolivian league. The other is in India.
Both will now play for India.
In a move that suggests what the future could look like for Indian football, Abneet Bharti, 27, and Ryan Williams, 32, will join the national team’s training camp in Bengaluru ahead of their Asia Cup qualifier against Bangladesh on November 18.
While Bharti has long since left Nepal and has previously been called up to India’s junior squads, Williams’ decision to give up his Australian passport to play for India is eye-catching. He is not the first player to do this. Arata Izumi was born in Japan, and his father was Gujarati. Izumi obtained Indian citizenship in 2012 and went on to play for the India national team 9 times in 2013 and 2014.
Bharti had left the Nepal national team for a long time and was previously called up for the Indian junior teams. (My daughter Bharti – Instagram)
However, Williams’ decision comes at a pivotal time in Indian football as the home-grown attacking force faces a severe shortage – an issue that saw them fail to qualify for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup. His move could also pave the way for other overseas players of Indian origin who are willing to give up their foreign citizenship to represent the country.
“Honored to officially make what has felt like a long time coming a reality. Grateful for the love, opportunity, and sense of belonging this country has given me,” Williams posted on his social media platforms. “India, I am one of you!”
Williams’ mother was born into an Anglo-Indian family in Mumbai, and his maternal grandfather, Lincoln Grostadt, played for Bombay in the Santosh Trophy in the 1950s. In 2018, his twin brother Arjen played in the I-League for NEROCA FC, and two years ago, Williams followed in his footsteps by signing for Indian Super League side Bengaluru FC.
Williams has played for Australia at the Under-20 and Under-23 sides, and made his first-team appearance in 2019 – coming on as a second-half substitute during a friendly match against South Korea. He initially expressed his desire to give up his Australian passport earlier this year. The Press Trust of India news agency quoted Kalyan Choubey, president of the Indian Football Association, as saying, “Sunil Chhetri provided the first information about Ryan Williams, who wants to play for India, by giving up his Australian passport. Since then, the process has begun.”
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The issue of PIO and OCI players has been one of the most contentious points in Indian sports in the last decade. In December 2008, the Sports Ministry, under MS Gill, formed a policy whereby it was decided that only Indian citizens would be eligible to represent the country in international events.
This made PIO and OCI card holders ineligible to represent India unless they renounced their foreign citizenship and applied for an Indian passport, since Indian laws do not allow dual citizenship. The government has so far maintained that allowing foreign athletes of Indian origin to play for India would hamper the prospects of local athletes. However, the AIFF believes their inclusion will significantly improve the performance of the national team, which is currently ranked 136th in the world, and pointed to the approach taken by other countries.
After Bharti and Williams were included, Choubey said the AIFF would proactively look for Indian passport holders playing abroad. “We will try to reach out to other regions of the world, especially football-playing countries, where Indian passport holders play. Through the media and other platforms, we would like to invite them to contact us, in order to build a stronger national team,” he said.
(Tags for translation)Ryan Williams
