Kelly Bailie is too pre-occupied with her attempts to help Glentoran retain the Irish Women’s Premiership title this season to dwell too much on it being her 25th campaign with the Belfast club.
Amid all the talk this week about Lionel Messi’s service for Barcelona after his time at the Nou Camp came to an end, the Argentine’s 18-year stint with the Catalan giants almost seems brief in comparison to the 41-year-old Comber woman’s remarkable Glentoran career.
To be exact, the Glens women were called Belfast United when Bailie joined the club in 1997 after a newspaper advertisement from another team seeking players had informed her that women’s football did actually exist in Northern Ireland.
“When I left high school, there was no women’s football [there]. I didn’t know of any coming from Comber,” says Kelly, who longevity at the Glens now has her matching the 25 years that namesake Noel Bailie spent at Linfield.
“But the club gave me the opportunity to play when I got there.
“The club is built around a community atmosphere and it always has been. It was something you wanted to be involved in at the time and that’s just got stronger over the years,” added Bailie, who won 56 caps for Northern Ireland in an international career which also saw her captaining her country.
“Sometimes, it’s hard for me to actually comprehend 25 years myself because I’m still playing as best I can. I haven’t looked back so far on my career.
“I think when I stop, the reality will probably set in of just how long I was able to play for and how lucky I’ve been considering injuries and things like that.”