Asian women making their mark in English football
ASIAN women are continuing to take big steps at all levels of English football.
Last March, Roop Kaur stunned football fans by doing almost 1,100 kick-ups for International Women’s Day. The 14-year-old has now officially joined the U16 set-up of the London Bees, the women’s club associated with Barnet FC, and she is “loving every minute” of it.
After spending the last few years at QPR (Queens Park Rangers), the west Londoner decided to move to north London and train under renowned coach and talent developer John Ryan.
“It’s my second week training and it’s been brilliant so far. I’ve loved every minute of it,” Kaur told Sky Sports News. “I’ve been on an amazing journey with QPR and I cannot thank them enough for everything they have done for me.
“I could have stayed and remained an important part of the team but I wanted to really test myself in a new environment. The coaches and my new teammates have been really welcoming.
“There are quite a few girls who are new to the team like me, so I guess we’re all kind of helping each other get settled, and looking forward to getting involved in some friendly games so we can see how we shape up as a team.
“The facilities at the Hive are amazing, and we also have the U18s and the first team training on the pitches near us while we train, which is also pretty cool because it motivates you to really want to break through.”
Meanwhile, midfielder Sandeep Tak is set to join FA Women’s Championship side London City Lionesses.
The 24-year-old, who started her career at QPR, has played for Notts County and Tottenham. Last season she was with Billericay Town.
In addition, London club Tottenham Hotspur have signed Asmita Ale, who has become the first Nepali-origin player in the club’s history. The 19-year-old turned down a contract offer to remain at Aston Villa to join Spurs on a two-year deal.
Ale was part of the Villa side that gained promotion to the Women’s Super League in 2019-20.
She made 18 league appearances last season and was named Aston Villa’s player of the season.