British footballer Hamza Choudhury, a midfielder for English Premier League side Leicester City, has now been granted clearance by FIFA to play for the Bangladesh national football team. This means a big breakthrough for him on what should have been a real landmark for his career: being the first Bangladeshi-origin player to do such things at this level.
Imran Hossain, the general secretary of the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF), confirmed the development, saying that Hamza has been nominated officially to represent Bangladesh. Celebrating the occasion, BFF posted a video of Hamza reacting:
“I cannot wait to be playing for Bangladesh and hopefully see you soon,” the 26-year-old midfielder said.
Leicester City Football Club also celebrated the victory, sharing images of Hamza holding the Bangladesh flag on its Facebook page. The post read, “Hamza Choudhury has switched his national allegiance to Bangladesh today.”
This was a joint effort from Hamza and the BFF. Following months of correspondence and procedural red tape, including the clearance of FIFA’s Player’s Chamber at its Football Tribunal, Hamza was finally cleared to play.
Hamza had also commenced the process of this move, having previously received a Bangladeshi passport in August through the Bangladesh High Commission in London, where he had applied for it two months prior. This was followed soon by clearance from the English Football Association (FA), which opened the way for FIFA’s final sign-off.
His rebound to Hamza Choudhury could revive Bangladeshi football and inspire a wave of juniors from the Diaspora. Fans back home highly anticipate his debut in the red and green jersey, a historic event for Bangladesh’s sport.