Historic! Bala Devi, First Indian Woman Footballer To Score In Europe

New Delhi, Dec 8: Scripting history in India's Women Football, Bala Devi became the first Indian woman to score in a professional league in Europe when she netted against Motherwell for Rangers FC.

 

The goal came in the 85th minute as fed the ball through to Bala Devi who slotted low beyond the keeper for her first competitive Rangers goal. This turned out to be a fantastic performance from the Gers who triumphed 9-0 against Motherwell. Lizzie Arnot and Kirsty Howat also scored hat-tricks for Rangers.

 

 

Bala Devi has also featured in the 'Old Firm Derby' - which is one of the oldest football rivalries in the world between Rangers FC and Celtic FC. Earlier this ear in January, she became the first Indian woman to sign a professional football contract overseas when she signed for Rangers FC.

 

 

This comes as the 29-year-old was in the headlines last year when she scored a whopping 26 goals in seven games for Manipur Police Department in the Indian Women's League (IWL) 2019. She has even three SAFF Women's' Championship titles (2010, 2014, 2016) and was named the AIFF Women's Player of the Year in 2014 and 2015.

 

Bala is the current top scorer for the Indian national women’s team, netting an impressive 65 times in 80 games since 2010, also making her the top international goal scorer in the South Asian region. She has also served as India captain in a distinguished international career, which began when she was called up while aged just 15. She also has a prolific goalscoring record at the domestic level with over 100 goals.