Ashleigh Plumptre, a Nigerian international, may have moved from the Women’s Super League in England to the newly formed Saudi Arabian Premier League, but the Al Ittihad defender believes she is “meant to be here” since she is a key player in the growth of women’s soccer in the kingdom.
Plumptre, 25, is among the most well-known newcomers to the Saudi Women’s Premier League, which is still in its infancy. She relocated to Jeddah last summer.
The defender, whose Leicester City contract ended in July, originally joined her hometown team when she was eight years old. In 2021, she helped the senior team become the first to be promoted to the top division of English women’s football.
Plumptre, whose father is her agent, said she had initially questioned why she would give up Leicester for a fresh project in Saudi. At the time, she was also preparing to feature for Nigeria – Plumptre represented England at youth level – at the 2023 Fifa World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
Plumptre, however, took her father’s advice and, after an hour-long phone conversation with manager Kelly Lindsey and important Ittihad officials, she was persuaded that Saudi Arabia was the best place for her to advance in her career—even though she had no idea which team was interested in signing her.
They most likely knew who I was right away. The head coach and general managers and I had an hour-long chat, and for the most part, we didn’t even talk about football,” Plumptre stated in a statement made public by the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) on Wednesday.
It was more about our personal identities, our values and priorities, and our personal aspirations. I was completely in sync with the people I was speaking with.
visited [Jeddah], and it reaffirmed that I am right where I am supposed to be. It came as a complete surprise, but I also felt like I had reached a realization that my football career has always been a reflection of who I am as a person.
I’m happy to have joined Al-Ittihad.
I’m eager to embark on this adventure with some amazing people.
I’m still working on becoming a more authentic version of myself.
Football isn’t the only thing.
“I place greater value on people than on my achievement. I immediately saw that being a part of something greater than myself brings me the most fulfillment.
Plumptre, who performed admirably for Nigeria during their World Cup run to the quarterfinals, seems to be settling down nicely in Saudi Arabia. On her debut, she scored a hat-trick away to Eastern Flames of Dammam. She subsequently scored another hat-trick in the December derby against Al Ahli.
To be honest, Plumptre added, “I didn’t want to come here with any expectations.” “I was aware that I was going with my gut instinct, but when I arrived here, I felt as though I had placed myself in a position where I should really strive to be honest about everything.
“I think that would have diminished what I might have contributed if I had clung to any sort of anticipation since I would have been so impacted by the views of others.
“I observed the level of play, and many asked me, ‘It’s going to be a decrease in standard for you, how do you think you’ll handle it?’ before I arrived. “You’re not really understanding why I’m coming here,” I said.
“I accept it because I believe I can play a part in attempting to assist with that. However, we’re also here to support these eager to learn Saudi players who are sponges.
Plumptre expressed her desire to share her vast knowledge with her Saudi colleagues, but she clarified that she would only offer counsel when she felt it was necessary. She claimed that since joining Ittihad, she has also improved, particularly in terms of her ability to score goals. Plumptre has scored seven goals in ten league games.
“We foreigners are so different from each other, and we all bring something unique to the table,” the woman remarked. Including the Saudi athletes. To be honest, I occasionally think that no one in the changing room is the same, yet we are all connected by this shared belief in trust and the pursuit of greater goals—something that goes beyond sports.
And it’s not something that happens overnight. The staff has a big part to play in that as well. But a lot of us [place emphasis on] it being like a family and that genuinely is how it feels. We’re on this journey for this season and going forward.
“I feel like we’ve all bought into one another, and I see it off the pitch and on the pitch. We have connections that I haven’t experienced anything like this on a team I’ve been on before.”
After 10 rounds this season, Ittihad sit fourth in the eight-team table, although only one point behind second place. Al Nassr, who were last year crowned champions of the league’s inaugural edition, hold an 11-point lead at the summit.
One of the first things that drew me to our head coach, Lindsay (a former US international who led the women’s national teams of Afghanistan and Morocco), is her discussion about honesty, Plumptre stated.
“I think that whatever comes from that was meant to happen, if I know that I’m being really me. I’m not sure what [winning at Ittihad] will entail, but I hope it will have a lasting impression on others and myself.
According to Plumptre, the reason she came here was the same as her motive for joining Nigeria: she wanted to study and be a part of something that would help her grow and evolve.
And I think you leave a lasting impression on someone if you can even simply know somebody and truly empathize with their stories—and they know mine—or if you can influence or impact just a few people.
I’m not sure how long I’ll be here, but if I can make a difference in the life of a young girl or a teammate who hasn’t played as long as I have, that’s something I will always cherish rather than something I can put on a mantlepiece and have to replace in a few years.
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