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When the All India Football Federation (AIFF) announced that defender Abneet Bharti and winger Ryan Williams had been called up for India’s preparatory camp ahead of the AFC Asian Cup qualifier against Bangladesh, it marked a generational shift.
For the first time, Indian football will welcome two players who have built their careers overseas, both carrying passports stamped with footballing wanderlust and cultural duality.
Together, they are not just squad inclusions; they represent the globalisation and perhaps the new dawn of Indian football itself.
Abneet Bharti: The globe-trotting defender who refused to wait for home recognition
At 27, Abneet Bharti has already lived a football life that could fill a travelogue. Born in Kathmandu, Nepal, he moved across four continents before earning his first India call-up this November.
His story began in Nigeria, where watching the 2006 FIFA World Cup lit the spark. He was a goalkeeper then — just a schoolboy with a dream.
His family relocated to India and Bharti soon became the top scorer for Shastri FC in Delhi’s Senior Division League.
At 13, he became the first Indian to sign a professional contract abroad, joining Geylang International in Singapore.
From there, his career became a map of global ambition. By 16, he was playing in Poland’s first division for Podbeskidzie Bielsko-Biała, and later moved to Portugal’s Sport Uniao Sintrense, where former Arsenal star Luís Boa Morte called him “fast, athletic and confident on the ball.”
Recognition arrived in 2018, when Italian outlet Calcio Mercato named him among the best U-21 Asian players in the world.
In June 2024, he became the first Indian footballer to debut for an Argentine club, representing Deportivo Sol de Mayo in the Torneo Federal A.
Now he plays for Academia del Balompié Boliviano in Bolivia’s top division, holding an Indian passport and finally getting noticed by the AIFF — thanks to a tip-off from the Indian embassy in Brazil.
Ryan Williams: The Anglo-Australian winger finding his Indian roots
If Bharti is the story of discovery abroad, Ryan Dale Williams is one of return. Born in Perth, Australia to a footballing family, the 31-year-old winger carries a lineage steeped in Indian football history.
His mother hails from an Anglo-Indian family in Mumbai, and his grandfather, Lincoln “Linky” Grostate, played for Bombay FC in the 1950s’ Santosh Trophy — long before Ryan ever kicked a ball.
Football runs in the Williams household. His older brother Rhys captained Middlesbrough and played for Australia, while his twin Aryn turned out for India’s NEROCA FC before the pandemic halted his stint.
Ryan’s career path, though, took him through England’s lower leagues — from Portsmouth to Fulham, Barnsley, Rotherham United, and back to Portsmouth, before returning home to Australia with Perth Glory.
In June 2019, he made his senior debut for Australia, but the turning point came when he decided to swap green and gold for blue.
Guided by Sunil Chhetri’s recommendation, and backed by AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey, Williams began the lengthy process of obtaining Indian citizenship, even surrendering his Australian passport since India disallows dual nationality.
By 2025, the sports ministry had cleared his documentation, and Williams became the first OCI (Overseas Citizen of India) holder called up to the national team.
On the pitch, he’s been effective — scoring seven goals in 22 matches for Bengaluru FC last season, combining energy with polished finishing.
The convergence
Bharti and Williams arrive from different paths. While one is trying to carve space in global football as a self-made wanderer, the other is reconnecting with his roots after years abroad. Yet both embody the same idea: that India’s football future lies not just in its domestic academies but across its diaspora.
Their inclusion in India’s camp ahead of the November 18 clash against Bangladesh may or may not translate into immediate debuts. But for decades, Indian football looked inward, relying and now, it’s beginning to scout its global community.
