Indian football player Manisha Kalyan is now all set to become the first Indian to play in the UEFA Women’s Champions League. The former-Gokulam Kerala club player has signed a two-year deal with Cyprus’ leading women’s team, the Apollon Ladies, which has automatically qualified her for the prestigious UEFA Champions League. The qualifying rounds for the Champions League are scheduled to begin in August 2022.
Kalyan’s new team, the Apollon Ladies, will play the first round of qualifying matches in the Champions League on August 18. If they win, they will then face Switzerland’s FC Zurich and Faroe Island’s Klaksvik Kvinmur.
The development was announced by Gokulam Kerala on Twitter: “Thank you, Manisha! After 3 illustrious years as a Malabarian and winning two IWL titles with us, Manisha has signed a two-year deal with Cypriot Champion Club Apollon Ladies. She is all set to become the first Indian to play in the UEFA Women's Champions League this season.”
This is not the first time Kalyan has dribbled her way into the ranks of India’s leading football players, male or female. In November 2021, she scored India’s first-ever goal against Brazil in a senior football match. Kalyan therefore managed to make history despite the fact that India lost the match to Brazil by 1-6.
Kalyan made her senior team debut in Hong Kong in January 2019, but the turning point in her career first came when she made it to the Indian U-17 team that participated in the 2018 BRICS Football Cup in South Africa. She also played a key role in Gokulam Kerala, the club that won the Indian Women’s League title in the 2019-2020 season. Kalyan was also named the emerging player of the tournament.
*Image courtesy: Twitter/GokulamKeralaFC