Ryan Williams arrived at Bengaluru FC, trying to find a new home thousands of miles away from his birthplace in Perth. Three years later, he has found one, as an India international and a first-team regular with 15 goals and five assists for club and country.

“When I first came, it was actually Simon Grayson who was here (as head coach), whom I had played against a few times in the UK before,” Williams tells Sportstar.

“For me, from a footballing point of view, the shoe fit really well because all the coaching staff were from the UK, the same methods that I was used to all the time I was in the UK.”

But the defining moment was his India call-up. He became the first foreign-born player to switch allegiance to the Blue Tigers since Arata Izumi and scored on his debut against Hong Kong in a 2-1 win in the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers.

Ryan Williams celebrates scoring on his India debut, against Hong Kong, China, in the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers. | Photo Credit: Thulasi Kakkat

“(There were) many emotions at first. It was obviously joy, excitement and just pure happiness because it was such a long journey leading up to that point,” Williams remembers.

“A bit of relief (too) because not only being able to be eligible and play was the first hurdle, the second hurdle was coming in and making sure that I made an impact.”

The match marked the end of a three-year wait for the forward, who received assistance from JSW and Bengaluru FC to finally get his Indian passport.

“This club is, and I can say from my point of view, a family club. I’ve got a lot of friends that are, you know, in the offices and stuff. It’s not only the boys on the pitch. Every chance I get, I go in there and say hello,” he adds.

“Even towards the end of the application process, the club managed to get it a lot quicker than I would have done. So, it was really special for me.”

But in professional football, one challenge follows another. Williams helped India to its first win in the Asian Cup qualifiers, but his club now demands his full focus.

Bengaluru FC has had three coaches in the last six months, with new Spaniard Pep Munoz taking over mid-season last month.

“With every new coach that comes in, there are different ideas. He’s only been here, like, maybe about a week. So it’s quite hard to tell. But from what I’ve seen so far, I’m enjoying it,” he says.

“You can look at it two ways. You can think, I wish Renedy (Singh) were still here or you can think, ‘I’m going to take up this challenge and see if I can learn something from this new coach.’ I think everybody at the moment is really working hard with this coach. He’s got some great ideas, and I’m looking forward to the times ahead,” Williams says.

Ryan Williams joined Bengaluru FC from Perth Glory in 2023, and has 14 goals and five assists for the club, across all competitions. | Photo Credit: K. Murali Kumar

Under Munoz, Bengaluru started with a 2-0 win over Super Cup champion FC Goa but stuttered against Kerala Blasters in their previous match, where his side was reduced to 10 men.

“I felt we were in control up to that point. Probably as a unit, we could have defended a bit better, even with 10 players. But again, it was just another opportunity for us to learn. Obviously, it’s unfortunate that it happened against our rivals, but it is what it is,” Williams says.

Bengaluru travels to Kolkata for its next match against in-form East Bengal, which beat two-time ISL winner Chennaiyin FC 3-1 last Saturday. A win here could propel the Blues into the top three.

“We played three away games, and we’ve got three wins. So, we feel pretty comfortable going away anyway. These next three games, East Bengal, Mumbai and Jamshedpur, are super important for us because they’re all above us, and they (East Bengal) have an extra game in hand,” the forward adds.

Williams’ pursuit of a new home might be complete, but the search for domestic silverware with the Blues remains elusive, one he will look to realise in the familiar blue kit in the Indian Super League.

Published on Apr 15, 2026