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. The cultured central defender, a stalwart at her hometown club for three years as a professional and seven years as a youth player,…
