For Asmita Ale, football has become more than a career.
It has become a way of carrying her family’s story — and her Nepali heritage — onto one of the biggest stages in women’s football.
The 23-year-old defender is currently playing for Leicester City in England’s Women’s Super League, having previously represented Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur.
Born in Britain to a retired Gurkha soldier from Nepal, Asmita Ale has spent much of her life moving between two worlds. On the football pitch, she has risen through England’s youth system and into professional football. Away from it, her family has kept her closely connected to Nepal and its culture.
For her parents, seeing their daughter establish herself in one of the world’s most competitive women’s leagues is a source of immense pride.
“She has brought pride to our family and our country,” says her father, Amrit Ale. “That is what makes us proud.”
Ale is also studying for a bachelor’s degree in sports science at Loughborough University, balancing university education with a demanding professional football career.
A football journey that began at eight
Asmita Ale started playing football at the age of seven. A year later, she joined the Aston Villa academy, where she began developing the skills that would eventually take her into professional football.
Before that, she had spent some time playing for a local boys’ team. But Aston Villa became the foundation of her career. By the age of 16, she was playing in the Women’s Super League.
In 2019, shortly after turning 18, Aston Villa offered her a professional contract.
It was a significant moment. Ale had become the first footballer of Nepali heritage to sign a professional contract in England’s women’s league.
At the time, she described the opportunity as the fulfilment of a childhood ambition.
“Playing football professionally is my dream, and I’m really happy to be at this club,” she said.
Her contribution soon became important to Aston Villa’s ambitions. She played a key role as the club secured promotion to the Women’s Super League in 2020.
Her performances also began attracting wider attention.
In 2021, BBC Sport named her among the Women’s Super League’s five brightest young talents.
From Aston Villa to Leicester
Asmita Ale remained with Aston Villa until 2021, making 50 appearances for the club.
She then moved to Tottenham Hotspur, where she played from 2021 to 2024 and made 31 appearances.
Now at Leicester City, she is continuing her career in the Women’s Super League.
She has already made three appearances for Leicester this season.
Her progression through three English clubs has given her experience at the highest level of domestic women’s football in the country.
Sky Sports News reported last year that Ale was the only player of Nepali heritage competing in the Women’s Super League.
She was also described as the only footballer from the South Asian community playing in England’s top women’s league.
But her connection to English football goes beyond the club game.
From England’s youth teams to the European stage
Asmita Ale has represented England at several youth levels, playing for the Under-17, Under-18 and Under-19 teams.
She made her England Under-17 debut at just 16 during the 2018 European Championship, coming on in the second half against Italy.
She was also selected for England’s squad for the opening match of the European Under-23 League.
For Ale, representing England has been a dream since childhood.
“I love playing for England. It was my dream,” she told Sky Sports News last year. “For every little girl, playing for your country is probably a dream.”
She says representing a country feels different from playing for a club.
“You get that extra motivation,” she said.
Her development was also recognised early by those around her.
Gemma Davies, a former head coach who worked with Ale, said she had already demonstrated her ability and had significant potential ahead of her.
“She has already proved her ability,” Davies said. “She is still at the beginning of her career and I think she has a lot of potential.”
A Gurkha family and a sporting upbringing
Behind Asmita Ale’s football career is a family with a strong connection to both Nepal and sport. Her father, Amrit Ale, was born in Nepal and comes from Damauli in Tanahun. A former Gurkha soldier, he spent 19 years in the British Army. But the military was not his only sporting connection.
Amrit is also a squash player. While in Nepal, he competed for selection for the national squash team at the South Asian Games. His own sporting background, Ale believes, may have influenced her.
She has described her father as the source of her sporting genetics.
Her family’s circumstances eventually meant that Ale was born in Britain.
When her father had to return to his British regiment, the family travelled to the UK because her mother was nearing her delivery date. Ale became the first member of the family to be born in Britain.
Her parents, she says, have remained her biggest supporters throughout her career.
They travelled with her when she was young and continued to accompany her as she progressed through the Aston Villa academy.
When she began representing England, they travelled internationally to watch her play.
“When I was a child, they would take me to England,” Ale told Sky Sports News. “Even when I played at the Villa academy, they would take me along. When I played for England, they would get on flights and travel to different countries to watch me.”
Their support, she says, has been one of the most important parts of her journey.
Keeping Nepal close
Although Asmita Ale was born and raised in Britain, Nepal has remained an important part of her identity.
Her parents have always reminded her where the family came from and encouraged her to stay connected with Nepali culture.
Food, family gatherings and festivals remain important parts of her life.
“I love Nepali food. My mum is a really good cook,” she says. “We celebrate lots of festivals together.”
As a child and teenager, she also travelled to Nepal almost every year to visit relatives.
Many members of her extended family continue to live there.
Growing up in Britain also meant being part of a sizeable British-Nepali community, where weddings, parties and other cultural gatherings helped maintain that connection.
For Ale, her identity has never been something she needed to choose between.
She has grown up with both her British football career and her Nepali family heritage.
More than football
Football has also changed Asmita Ale beyond what happens on the pitch.
She says she was a quiet child growing up and lacked confidence in speaking up.
Her coaches pushed her to become more vocal.
“When I was a child, I was very quiet. My manager used to tell me many times that I needed to speak up,” she says.
Football gradually forced her out of that comfort zone.
It taught her to communicate, make decisions and deal with different situations.
People who knew her at school have noticed the difference too.
“People who knew me at school say I am much more confident now,” she says.
That transformation may be as significant as anything she has achieved on the football pitch.
At 23, Ale is still at the beginning of what could be a long professional career.
She has already played for some of England’s biggest clubs, represented the country at youth level and established herself in the Women’s Super League.
But for a young footballer whose roots stretch back to Damauli, her story carries another significance.
Her success has given a new generation of Nepali and British-Nepali girls another player to look up to.
And for the parents who watched their daughter grow from a seven-year-old kicking a football to a professional defender playing in England’s top flight, the pride extends far beyond the game.
Asmita Ale may have built her football career in England.
But she has never forgotten where her family began.
