Kathmandu, July 18 -- Sabitra Bhandari, Nepal's captain and all-time leading goal scorer, is set to play in the Ninja A-League Women-the elite women's club football competition of Australia and New Zealand-for the next two seasons.

Bhandari, widely known as "Samba" in the football community in Nepal and beyond, has signed with New Zealand-based club Wellington Phoenix FC. The signing was officially announced on Thursday.

The A-League described Bhandari's signing as a "huge coup" for Wellington Phoenix-the only New Zealand-based club in the top division. The league published an article on its website announcing her arrival, headlined: "Huge coup as Wellington Phoenix sign 'national icon' with crazy international goals record."

Samba ent...