American Bella Viana will forever be grateful for her time at Caley Thistle Women as she moves on to pastures new.
The 24-year-old joined Inverness at the start of the season after moving to the Highlands with her boyfriend Callum Haspell.
The pair met in Spain, while they were both there playing football, and would go on to move to Haspell’s hometown of Inverness.
Upon a return to Scotland, he signed for Breedon Highland League side Rothes, while Viana was also on the hunt for a new club.
After trialling with SWPL clubs, Viana then approached Karen Mason, the manager of ICT Women, who was happy to have her on board for the SWF Championship season.
Now based in Glasgow following Haspell’s move to Championship outfit Queen’s Park, Viana played her last game for Inverness in late January and is again on trial with a top-flight club in the hope of securing a deal.
“I had trialled with a couple SWPL teams when I first moved to Scotland, but because I am American, the visa was always the issue,” explained Viana.
“I wanted to keep playing and keep training, so I got in contact with Karen.
“I went along to training and, yeah, ever since then I was there twice a week and playing matches at the weekend.
“It has been amazing – I am really going to miss the girls and Karen. I said to them that it was going to be hard to find another group who are as positive and nice as they are.
“They were all so welcoming and so warm when I joined. I’m super grateful for my time with the team.
“I took on a different position. I played at centre-half at Inverness and I am an attacking midfielder, but I said to Karen when I came in that I would play wherever she needed me to, because I was there to help the team.
“I’d like to believe that I did help them as much as I could.
“I’m a bit disappointed that I was not able to help them out with the last couple of games and help them fight for promotion, but my experience has been nothing but positive.”
Return to full-time football Viana’s aim after Caley Thistle Women stint
Viana is clearly well thought of at the club, as manager Mason told the Press and Journal: “She is a class player and has really lifted us during her time at the club.
“I would love to have 11 of her on the pitch.
“We wish her all the best and we look forward to seeing how she gets on.”
Before joining Inverness, Viana was exposed to a full-time programme with Malaga City and previously had to balance an intense training schedule with her studies when she was playing college football at UC Santa Barbara.
A return to that kind of environment was always in the California native’s plans.
“I definitely wanted to get back to full-time football,” said Viana. “The aim was be back in a more competitive environment – whether that is in training or in games.
“It is important to remember that Inverness are not full-time and none of the players get paid.
“Karen is a volunteer and she puts so much work and so much effort into the team.
“My time at Inverness was really fun and it helped me to start playing again when I moved to Scotland, but it is not the level I want to be at.
“I want to be in a more competitive environment, in things like training and the competition in the team, and to be full-time again, so that means playing in the SWPL, which will hopefully be happening.”
Scotland may be a far cry from where she grew up in Los Angeles county, but Viana loved the time she spent living in Inverness – and is now raring for a new adventure in Glasgow.
“I really enjoyed the Highlands,” said Viana. “It’s beautiful, the pace of life is really nice and everyone was super friendly.
“Being down in Glasgow has been fun and there have been loads of different things to do – we did an escape room the other day and that was a lot of fun.
“I do love it over here in Scotland. The people here, the friendliness and their sense of humour is a huge plus and that’s something I really appreciate.”
North fixtures this weekend
ICT will be aiming to stop a disappointing run of three consecutive Championship defeats when they travel to East Fife on Sunday.
The two teams are level on 21 points going into the match, with the Highlanders sitting third, one place above their opponents, thanks to a superior goal difference.
Inverness manager Mason said: “We’re on a pretty bad run of form at the minute and nothing seems to be going our way.
“I think we now need to think about each game at a time and put the top-two out of our mind right now.
“We’ve probably shot ourselves in the foot in being able to achieve that. So, it is about trying to regroup and taking each game as it comes and try to get our performances to be a lot better.”
Elsewhere in the Championship, Westhill side Westdyke are on the hunt for their first league win in four matches when they face Renfrew away.
New head coach Cameron Hay will take charge of Dyce Women for the first time this weekend when they host Westdyke Thistle in SWFL North.
The other fifth-tier fixtures are: Elgin City v Grampian, Stonehaven v Inverurie Locos, Huntly v Dryburgh Athletic.
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