Bailie ready for 30th and final season at Glentoran

Bailie ready for 30th and final season at GlentoranImage source, PacemakerImage caption, Bailie (right) collected the 13th league title of her career last season as Glentoran beat Cliftonville to the Women's Premiership title on the final dayByLauren McCannBBC Sport NI JournalistPublished17 April 2026Updated 15 minutes ago"Thirty is a nice round number, we will finish there." Kelly Bailie is preparing for her 30th and final season at Glentoran, a club she has represented since the age of 16.In the close to three decades since her debut, the now 46-year-old has made over 750 appearances for the club, won over 30 trophies (including 13 league titles) and represented Northern Ireland 56 times.Bailie has spent more consecutive seasons at the east Belfast side than the likes of Sait Altınordu at Altınordu S.K (27 years), Francesco Totti at Roma (25 years) and Ryan Giggs at Manchester United (24 years) and was shocked to learn she was among the longest-serving one-club players."I wouldn't even have been thinking about that until you mentioned it. It's hitting home, 30 years, I don't want to say you take it for granted, but I've never thought about it and when you do, that's some massively big players who have done some big things in world football, it's nuts," she told BBC Sport NI's Nicola McCarthy."Everything is surreal, you don't grow up and think this is what I want to do. I never expected anything like that. I'm extremely proud of it and entirely grateful for it all."'The club, the environment, the people' key to Bailie's longevityImage source, Press EyeImage caption, Bailie won the last for her 56 Northern Ireland caps in 2015Bailie started at Glentoran when it was still called Belfast United, as a nimble left winger but she has since transitioned into a no-nonsense defender in the twilight years of her career.She has won every domestic trophy possible, but when asked what...