Bangladesh is set to bring a host of diaspora players including Leicester City’s star midfielder and Bangladesh-origin footballer Hamza Choudhary to their football squad for the preparation of their highly anticipated clash against Palestine on 21 March in FIFA World Cup Qualifiers Round 2.
The National Men’s team of Bangladesh is also on course to rope in the services of Bangladesh-origin midfielder Shamit Shome who is currently playing in the premier division of the Canadian Premier League and has vast experience in major league soccer.
Bangladesh will play Palestine away from home in their third match of Group I and then Bangladesh will host the opposition in Bhasundra Kings Arena, Dhaka on 26 March.
Bangladesh looks set to get Hamza Chowdhury and some other diaspora players for next month's matches. https://t.co/LiqlVWqXUn
— FootballPakistan.com (@FootballPak) February 26, 2024
In the last game, Bangladesh drew against Lebanon where their star forward Morsalin scored a brilliant equalizer to shock the Lebanese side which was much higher in FIFA rankings than the host.
Bangladesh is currently ranked 183 in the FIFA rankings while Lebanon is ranked 115 in the World Rankings which is a gap of around 70 places.
It was a defiant performance from the men in green against a very strong Lebanon side and two diaspora players had a role to play in that result, their leader Jamal Bhuyan, and their centre-back Tariq Qazi.
Jamal Bhuyan was born in Denmark while Tariq Qazi has Bangladeshi roots but was born in Finland, both the players now play in the Bangladesh Premier League and their head coach Jose Cabrera has made sure in recent years that all the players who are part of the national squad should emerge from their domestic league, emphasizing on grassroots development.
The inclusion of diaspora players like Hamza Choudhary and Shamit Shome will bring experience and quality to the Bangladesh side and will attract eyeballs and increase brand value.
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