Ryan Williams is now eligible to represent the Indian men’s national football team after FIFA’s Players’ Status Chamber approved his change-of-association request on Thursday.
As per a statement released by the All India Football Federation (AIFF), the decision followed a review under the Regulations Governing the Application of the Statutes (RGAS), confirming that the Australia-born football player met all criteria required for the international switch.
The eligibility clearance comes after Williams completed the process of giving up his Australian citizenship and acquiring an Indian passport earlier this month.
Since India does not permit dual citizenship, athletes must hold an Indian passport to compete for the country internationally.
A 2008 sports ministry policy reinforces this by requiring all national representatives to be Indian citizens. As a result, even OCI (Overseas Citizens of India) and PIO (Person of Indian Origin) athletes must give up their foreign citizenship to become eligible.
Williams, whose mother was born in an Anglo-Indian family in Mumbai, thus, became only the second foreign-born OCI/PIO footballer to take up Indian citizenship in order to represent the national team.
The first was Japan-born Arata Izumi, who qualified through his Gujarati father and played nine matches for India between 2013 and 2014.
Williams’ maternal grandfather, Lincoln Grostate, represented the Bombay (erstwhile Mumbai) state football team in the Santosh Trophy in the 1950s.
Williams, born in Perth in 1993, spent his early years in Australia before moving to England in 2010 to join Portsmouth’s academy. He was promoted to the senior team the following year and made his professional debut against Middlesbrough.
Following stints with various English clubs, including Fulham, Barnsley and Portsmouth, Williams returned to Australia when he joined Perth Glory in 2022.
The following year, he moved to Indian Super League (ISL) side Bengaluru FC, a club he still represents.
It was at BFC, that he expressed interest in representing India to his club teammate Sunil Chhetri – India’s top goal scorer.
Internationally, Williams played for Australia at the 2012 AFC U-19 Championship in the UAE and the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Turkiye.
His only senior appearance for Australia came in a 2019 friendly against the Republic of Korea, where he came on as a second-half substitute.
Under FIFA’s Statutes, Williams is allowed to change his national team because his senior appearance for Australia came in a non-competitive match.
Williams was included in the Indian squad for their AFC Asian Cup 2027 Qualifiers match in Bangladesh earlier this week but wasn’t in the matchday squad as all required NOCs hadn’t come in.
With FIFA’s approval now in effect, Williams can be selected for India in official international matches.
Nepal-born defender Abneet Bharti, who plays his club football in Bolivia, is also reportedly undergoing the process to represent India. He also attended India’s national camp ahead of the Bangladesh match along with Williams as a trial.
