Ngangom Bala Devi (born 2 February 1990) is an Indian women's

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

for

India women's national football team The India women's national football team is controlled by the All India Football Federation and represents India at women's international football competitions. Under the global jurisdiction of FIFA and governed in Asia by the AFC. India is a ...

Club career

Born in

Manipur Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of Myanm ...

, Devi grew up playing the game with mainly boys. She was a part of the Manipur U-19 team that took part in the Under-19 Women's Championship in Assam in 2002. After the tournament she was declared the best player of the tournament. She was awarded the same title the next year in 2003. She also earned top-scorer awards at the under-17 level for her state. Eventually, Devi went on to represent the Manipur Senior Women's Football Team in the

Senior Women's National Football Championship Senior Women's National Football Championship is the women's football tournament which is contested by state associations and government institutions in India. The first edition was held in 1991 and is organized by the All India Football Fede ...

. She was very influential in her state, winning the women's football championship in 2014, scoring a brace as

defeated

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

in the final 3–1. This was Manipur's first championship since 2010 and their 17th overall. While playing with Manipur, Devi was teammates with

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

captain and AIFF Women's Player of Year,

Oinam Bembem Devi Oinam Bembem Devi (born 4 April 1980) is a retired Indian footballer from Imphal, Manipur. In 2017, she was honoured with the Arjuna Award by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. She was nicknamed the ''Durga of Indian Football'' and is c ...

. She finished the tournament scoring 29 goals in seven matches. During the

2015 National Games of India The 2015 National Games of India, also known as the ''35th National Games of India'' and informally as Kerala 2015, was held from 31 January 2015 to 14 February 2015 across seven districts of Kerala, India. It was the second time that Kerala ho ...

, Devi represented her state as they won the gold medal. She scored the equalizer in the final against Odisha to make it 1–1 at the Corporation Stadium. The team went on to win the match 4–2 on penalties. In 2014, Devi signed a contract with New Radiant WSC of Maldives in the

FAM Women's Football Championship The FAM Women's Football Championship is a Maldivian football competition for women, run by The Football Association of Maldives. Past winners Winners table References External linksWomen's Championship {{Top level women's association ...

alongside players

and Lako Phuti Bhutia. She played inaugural season of

Indian Women's League The Indian Women's League, known as ''Hero Indian Women's League'' for sponsorship ties with Hero MotoCorp is the women's top tier professional football league in Indian football. Founded in 2016, currently a total of 18 teams from across the ...

2016–17 with Manipur Police Sports Club in qualifying round and in Final Round played with

Eastern Sporting Union Eastern Sporting Union, generally known as ESU in Manipur, is an Indian professional association football, football club based in Imphal, Manipur. It's women's team competed in the Indian Women's League. Eastern Sporting Union is one of the mos ...

. In 2017–18 IWL 2nd season she joined KRYPHSA and in 2018–19 IWL 3rd season she re-joined Manipur Police Sports Club. In January 2020, Devi signed a professional contract of 18 months with

Scottish Women's Premier League The Scottish Women's Premier League (SWPL) is the highest level of league competition in women's football in Scotland. Its two divisions are SWPL 1 and SWPL 2. The league was formed when the Premier Division of the Scottish Women's Football League ...

club Rangers, making her one of the few Indian women to become a professional footballer abroad. On 6 December 2020, she became the first Indian woman to score in a professional football league in Europe by netting for the Rangers, as they won against

Motherwell Motherwell ( sco, Mitherwall, gd, Tobar na Màthar) is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Historically in the parish of Dalziel and part of Lanarks ...

by 9–0. An ankle injury ruled her out for the rest of the matches and she later parted ways with the club. In December 2022, Devi moved to Spain along with Elangbam Panthoi Chanu, and underwent training cum trial stint at Spanish

Segunda Federación Segunda Federación, previously called Segunda División RFEF, also officially known as Segunda B-Segunda Federación, is the fourth tier of the Spanish football league system containing 90 teams divided into five groups. It is administered by t ...

club

Málaga Málaga (, ) is a municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 578,460 in 2020, it is the second-most populous city in Andalusia after Seville and the sixth most pop ...

International career

Devi's first tournament with the national team was at the under-17 level in 2005. She has represented

at the senior level since 2005. She also represented the India women's under-19 side in 2006 and 2007. She was a part of the India team that took part in the first women's SAFF Championship in 2010. On 13 December 2010 she scored five goals in India's opening match of the tournament against

Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainous ...

as India won 18–0. India went on to win the tournament, defeating

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

1–0. She scored total 8 goals in 5 matches. Despite being a part of the 2010 winning team, Devi was not included in the India squad that won the tournament again in

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

. She did return to the team for the

2014 AFC Women's Asian Cup The 2014 AFC Women's Asian Cup, the 18th edition of the competition, was a women's association football tournament competed by national teams in Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It served as the qualification for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cu ...

qualifiers in May 2013 but India failed to qualify. On 27 October 2014, it was announced that Devi was selected into the India squad that was to participate in the

2014 SAFF Women's Championship The 2014 SAFF Women's Championship was an association football tournament for women's national teams organised by the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF). It was the third edition of the tournament since the first one in 2010. The competition w ...

, her first SAFF Championship since 2010. She started the tournament in fantastic form as she scored four goals in the opening match against

Maldives Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, translit=Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa, label=none, ), is an archipelag ...

. Her form continued into the next match against

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

as she scored a brace in a 5–1 victory for India. Devi then scored five more goals in the final group stage match against

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

on 17 November. She finished the group stage with eleven goals from three matches. During the semi-final against

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

Devi scored only once in a 5–0 thrashing. However, in the final, Devi managed to find the net four times as India defeated Nepal 6–0 to claim their third straight SAFF Championship crown. Devi finished the 2014 SAFF Championship with sixteen goals in only five matches. Due to her performance in the tournament, Devi was awarded the Women's Player of the Year award by the

All India Football Federation The All India Football Federation (AIFF) is the national governing body of football in India. It is a member of FIFA, the international governing body of football and affiliated to Asian Football Confederation. It is affiliated to Ministry o ...

. Also awarded in the next year 2015 Indian Women's Player of the Year. In

2016 South Asian Games The 2016 South Asian Games, officially the XII South Asian Games, is a major multi-sport event which took place from 5 February to 16 February 2016 in Guwahati and Shillong, India. A total of 2,672 athletes competed in 226 events over 22 sports ...

she scored 3 goals in 5 matches. She also captained

in 2016 SAFF Women's Championship. She also clinched the title first time as a captain.

Personal life

While a semi-professional footballer in India, Devi also worked as a policewoman for the

Manipur Police The Manipur Police is the law enforcement agency for the state of Manipur in India. Organizational structure Manipur Police comes under direct control of Department of Home Affairs, Government of Manipur. The Manipur Police is headed by Direc ...

. She was promoted to Inspector rank following her impressive performance in football for Rangers. She completed her education at the Oinam Thambal Marik College.

Career statistics

International goals

Honours

India *

SAFF Women's Championship The SAFF Women's Championship, also called the ''South Asian Football Federation Women's Cup'', is the main association football competition of the women's national football teams, governed by the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF). All seve ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

South Asian Games The South Asian Games (SAG or SA Games), formerly known as the South Asian Federation Games (SAFG or SAF Games), is a quadrennial multi-sport event held among the athletes from South Asia. The governing body of these games is South Asia Olympic C ...

Gold medal:

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

Eastern Sporting Union *

: 2016–17 Manipur *

: 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2013–14, 2019–20 * National Games Gold medal:

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

New Radiant WSC *

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

Individual * Indian Women's League Top Scorer: 2017–18, 2018–19 * AIFF Women's Player of the Year (3): 2014, 2015, 2020–21 * AFC International Player of the Week (2): December 2020, May 2021 *

Best Player: 2015 * FAM Women's Football Championship Top Scorer: 2015 (with 25 goals)

References

External links

*
Player profile
at

{{DEFAULTSORT:Devi, Bala 1990 births Living people Indian women's footballers Women's association football forwards Footballers from Manipur India women's international footballers India women's youth international footballers Footballers at the 2014 Asian Games Sportswomen from Manipur 21st-century Indian women 21st-century Indian people South Asian Games gold medalists for India South Asian Games medalists in football Asian Games competitors for India Eastern Sporting Union players Kryphsa F.C. Players Rangers W.F.C. players Indian expatriate women's footballers Indian expatriate sportspeople in the United Kingdom Expatriate women's footballers in Scotland Expatriate women's footballers in the Maldives Scottish Women's Premier League players Indian Women's League players