One is a Kathmandu-born centre-back. The other is a winger born and raised in Perth. One has had a journeyman career, covering South America, Europe and Africa. The other stayed put in the UK for a decade, playing for the likes of Portsmouth and Fulham, before making an appearance for Australia. One currently plies his trade in the Bolivian league. The other, in India.
Both will now play for India.
In a move that points to what the future could look like for Indian football, 27-year-old Abneet Bharti and Ryan Williams, 32, will join the national team training camp in Bengaluru ahead of the AFC Asian Cup qualifier against Bangladesh on November 18.
While Bharti had left the Nepal fold long back and has previously been called up for junior India teams, Williams’s decision to surrender his Australian passport to play for India is striking. He isn’t the first player to do so – that was Japan-born Arata Izumi, whose father was Gujarati. Izumi took Indian citizenship back in 2012 and went on to play for India 9 times in 2013 and 2014.
Bharti had left the Nepal fold long back and has previously been called up for junior India teams. (Abneet Bharti – Instagram)
Williams’ decision, however, comes at a pivotal time in Indian football where the homegrown strikeforce is facing an acute shortage – a problem that saw them fail to qualify for the 2027 Asian Cup. His move could also pave the way for other overseas-based players with Indian roots who are willing to give up foreign citizenship to represent the country.
“Honoured to make official what’s long felt true. Grateful for the love, the opportunity, and the sense of belonging this country has given me,” Williams posted on his social media platforms. “India, I’m one of your own!”
Williams’ mother was born in an Anglo-Indian family in Mumbai, and his maternal grandfather, Lincoln Grostate, played for Bombay in the Santosh Trophy in the 1950s. In 2018, his twin brother Aryn played in the Indian league for NEROCA FC, and a couple of years ago, Williams followed in his footsteps by signing for Indian Super League giants Bengaluru FC.
Williams has played for Australia at the U-20 and U-23 levels, and made a senior team appearance in 2019 – coming on as a second-half substitute during a friendly against South Korea. He first expressed his desire to give up his Australian passport earlier this year. “Sunil Chhetri gave the first information about Ryan Williams, who wants to play for India by giving up his Australian passport. From then on, the process started,” AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey was quoted as saying by the Press Trust of India.
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The issue of PIO and OCI players has been one of the most contentious points in Indian sport in the last decade. In December 2008, the Sports Ministry, under MS Gill, formed a policy in which it was decided that only Indian citizens would be eligible to represent the country in international events.
This made the PIO and OCI card holders ineligible to represent India unless they gave up their foreign citizenship and applied for an Indian passport, given that Indian laws do not allow dual citizenship. The government has so far maintained that allowing Indian-origin foreign athletes to play for India would hamper the prospects of home-grown sportspersons. The AIFF, however, believes their inclusion will improve the national team, currently ranked 136th in the world, considerably and have cited the approach taken by other countries.
Following Bharti and Williams’ inclusion, Chaubey said the AIFF will proactively search for Indian passport holders playing abroad. “We will try to reach out to other regions in the world, especially football-playing nations, where Indian passport holders are playing. Through media and other platforms, we would like to invite them to contact us, to make a stronger National Team,” he said.
