I feel I have a strong purpose in being in Saudi Arabia, says Ittihad Ladies’ Ashleigh Plumptre

LONDON: Most footballing destinies are shaped in grandiose settings — gleaming stadiums or opulent boardrooms.

However, for Ashleigh Plumptre, the momentous discussion about her life-changing move to Saudi Arabia unfolded in far more ordinary surroundings: A car journey to collect an Indian takeaway for her father’s birthday after Plumptre’s relaxing holiday in Los Angeles.

June 2023 marked a pivotal juncture for the Saudi Women’s Premier League’s new superstar, who on Thursday scored a hat-trick as Al-Ittihad defeated Al-Ahli 6-2 in the Jeddah Derby. That was when her contract with England’s Women’s Super League outfit Leicester Ladies expired.

من كثرها نسينا كم انتهت
آشلي تبارك لكم .. pic.twitter.com/h2VhD398TQ

— Al-Ittihad Ladies | سيدات الاتحاد (@ittiladiesclub) December 14, 2023

The cultured central defender, a stalwart at her hometown club for three years as a professional and seven years as a youth player, harbored no specific aspirations about her next move. The looming World Cup in July and August presented a global stage where Plumptre, 25, would excel in the green and white of Nigeria as they embarked on an exhilarating journey to the last 16.

The footballing world was Plumptre’s oyster. The lucrative offers her father and agent, Tim, received from clubs in the WSL, Europe and the US, bore testimony to that.

However, an intriguing call from Nick McCreery of Jobs4Football about his recruitment for Jeddah-based Al-Ittihad Ladies captured his imagination.

“It was weird how it happened,” Plumptre reflected during an exclusive interview with Arab News. “My dad messaged me while I was away in LA right at the end of the season for about a week and a half and said: ‘You’ve got interest from a club in Saudi