rewrite this title Ryan Williams on switching Australia for India: ‘People looked at me like I had four heads’

“Overwhelming pride.”

Those two words are Ryan Williams’ emotions when he thinks of the moment he could put on the India shirt for the first time in Dhaka next week, for the AFC Asian Cup qualifier against Bangladesh.

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The seeds were sown a while ago, by his maternal grandfather, the late Lincoln Grostate, who had played for Bombay in the Santosh Trophy in the 1950s. Even then, the message was to try and play in India, not for India, Williams tells ESPN.

Ever since then, the Williams family has been trying. Ryan’s twin brother Aryn played in India, notably for NEROCA FC, in the late 2010s, and explored the possibility of obtaining Indian citizenship. However, too many people told Aryn that it wouldn’t be possible, and he stopped pursuing it, with the COVID-19 pandemic also cutting short his stint in India.

Ryan Williams, though, is of the persistent type. “My two hands aren’t enough to count the number of people who told me it wouldn’t be possible,” he says.

With the support of his family, he decided to have a go at it, and stuck at it. It was a process that began two years ago, which was the beginning of his stint with Bengaluru FC in the ISL. He first had to mandatorily live in India for 12 months, before the process went into the stage of documentation. Now at the end of it all, with an Indian passport in hand, Williams is as relieved as he is delighted. Relief because the process was as long and uncertain.

Now that it’s done, his grandfather’s dream will be realised, and he has a chance to play international football again after six years — post his only appearance for Australia, in a friendly against South Korea.

The motivations for Williams were two-fold. Honouring the memory of his grandfather played a part, but from his own personal perspective, there was to be no higher stage to play football than representing a country. Williams hopes to be a pathbreaker. It is a difficult decision to give up a stronger diplomatic passport to take up an Indian one. His wife, he says, pushed him to do it as well. He lives in Bengaluru with her and their two kids, and they all love life in the city.

Ryan Williams. Indian. ����#WeAreBFC pic.twitter.com/U0kW3HOGmV

– Bengaluru FC (@bengalurufc) November 6, 2025

“People looked at me like I had four heads, when I said I’m giving up my Australian passport for an Indian one,” Williams says.

For the likes of Yan Dhanda and Danny Batth, who have in the past spoken about their desire to represent India but haven’t been willing to give up their British passports, there is an example to follow. Williams says it would only move football in India forward.

Unfortunately for Williams, India’s dire performances in the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers mean he won’t have competitive internationals to make an impact on for the next couple of years, at least. It’s a shame, he says, adding that he wished the process of obtaining citizenship went a bit quicker, meaning he could’ve tried to make an impact on some of the games so far.

“That’s alright, though,” he says. “I don’t want to make an impact just on the field.”

He’s a standard-setter. Anyone who frequently watches Bengaluru FC play would know that Williams demands the best from those around him, and he’s not afraid to let them know on the pitch when they aren’t. Can he become a leader in the national team, while being new to camp? For starters, he says, he just wants to be in camp, put the India shirt on and give it his best.

Where Williams could also make a difference is with the All India Football Federation and its ways. As it stands, India doesn’t have a top-tier football league, and on Friday, the AIFF announced they received no bids in response to their RFP for the Indian Super League’s commercial rights.

“Sometimes, you go one step back to take two steps forward,” Williams says, in the hope that this setback is only temporary, and that the league will be up and running soon.

“I’ve enjoyed my time in the ISL so far, it’s been so well organised. I’ve looked forward to the calendar coming out. When are we playing Kerala Blasters? When are we playing Mohun Bagan away? What am I going to be doing on Christmas day? I’ve been excited, but hopefully we’ll be back soon, for the sake of these footballers, who depend on these salaries to run their families,” he says.

This hasn’t just been one step back though, it’s been many paces back for Indian football in these last few months. The national team’s results have been nothing short of atrocious, the running of the game in the country has been uncertain and chaotic, and the players have been the ultimate losers.

In the midst of it all, there’s been a man bold enough to put his faith on football in this country. Just like those people at the passport office who looked at him in shock on hearing his wish to switch from Australia to India, there is shock that he has decided to put his faith in this system. It’s up to the AIFF to ensure that Williams doesn’t look back on this decision with regret.

For now, Williams just wants to get going with life in India colours. The Bangladesh game has come at short notice, but he says if he’s fit and called up for the national team in March, his entire family will be there, watching their Ryan realise a long-standing dream for the Williams household.