Super Falcons star Ashleigh Plumptre announced signing for Al-Ittihad with 'Salam Alaykum'.
Super Falcons defender Ashleigh Plumptre completed a move to Saudi Women’s Premier League side Al-Ittihad Ladies, and she announced the move using the Muslim greeting.
Plumptre’s move to Saudi Arabia follows a blameless World Cup outing with the Nigerian women’s national team and the running out of her contract with Leicester City, four years after joining the club from LA Galaxy.
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Ashleigh Plumptre: I didn't see it coming — Nigerians react to Super Falcons star joining Al Ittihad
Nigerians express shock as Super Falcons star Ashleigh Plumptre joins Saudi Women's Premier League side Al-Ittihad Ladies.
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Plumptre says Asalam Alaykum
The Saudi team unveiled Plumptre’s signing with a one-minute video that began with suspenseful music and the player’s silhouette generated by the choice of lighting.
She then emerged from the darkness with a smile and attempted to say the Muslim greeting, ‘Salam Alaykum’. Plumptre failed her first attempt, but on her second try, she pronounced the Arabic words, which mean ‘peace be unto you’, beautifully.
The 26-year-old English-born defender looks to already be warming herself up to the culture of her new home, making an effort to speak the language, and declaring that she has opened herself up to learning about football in that part of the world.
Ashleigh, the latest top talent from Europe to move to Saudi
Saudi Arabia increased its interest and investment in football over the past few years, beginning with the Public Investment Fund (PIF) acquiring Newcastle United in the Premier League.
PIF has now acquired four teams in the Saudi Professional League, and the windfall saw top talents from top European leagues swapping for the SPL.
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Al-Ittihad, the men’s team of Plumptre’s new team, have already signed Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema and a world champion in Kante. Neymar is already at Al-Hilal and Cristiano Ronaldo is plying his trade at Al-Nassr.
The move for a talent like Plumptre signals that the Saudis want to grow their women’s football concurrently as they make the ascent towards being one of the powerhouses in the sport.
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