The persistence of the Bangladeshi football fans who have besieged Hamza Choudhury’s social media channels for years ever since he made his Leicester City debut seven years ago has finally paid off.
The midfielder, born in Loughborough to a Bangladeshi mother, has been capped seven times by England at under-21 level. But he has listened, switched his allegiance and pledged to play for Bangladesh.
While Bangladesh finished bottom of their World Cup qualifying group, the Leicester academy graduate, 27, has set his goals on raising their FIFA world ranking of 185th (out of 210).
Choudhury, who has been a regular visitor to his extended family in the Habiganj region for years, is on a mission. He hopes his decision will help Bangladesh build an infrastructure that can help produce players capable of playing in Europe and boost the domestic game.
None of the current squad, coached by Spaniard Javier Cabrera, currently play outside of Bangladesh. Captain Jamal Bhuyan has experience playing in Denmark, where he was born, but Choudhury will be the first with Premier League experience to represent the country.
“It’s something that’s been in the works for a couple of years,” Choudhury tells The Athletic. “I represented England in the youth team, but as my career progressed, it came to fruition that is not an option for me.
“It’s something I’ve definitely always had in the back of my mind, that I’d like to represent Bangladesh — and the people of Bangladesh more importantly. I’ve got a really good connection with the fans in Bangladesh. I get messages every day letting me know that they want me to come and play.
“I also feel like it’s something that I wanted to do to have some more exposure for Bangladesh on the footballing stage.”
Initially, Choudhury wants to provide his experience to the team — he has been at Leicester since he was seven years old and has played nearly 200 senior games. Ultimately, he wants to work with the Bangladesh Football Federation to help build an infrastructure that can produce and develop domestic talent.
“It’s probably a bit of a misconception that cricket is definitely their main sport, although they are most successful in it,” he says. “But I think everyone’s main sport that they love watching and playing is football.
“They’ve just not been really fortunate enough or have the infrastructure yet to develop and grow these players to reach the European leagues, which hopefully can provide a stepping stone for them to have more players in the European leagues or the top leagues.
“I know they are absolutely crazy about football. I hope I can open up channels for more Bangladeshis to play in the top five leagues or in Europe, or just have a way of getting themselves into the bigger leagues and giving them some more exposure.
“Hopefully, in time, I can put into place some sort of structure in the younger age groups and the younger local teams to be able to do that.
“The Bangladesh Federation has been doing lots of work already, but if I can give them a different sort of outlook, a European outlook, I hope that helps.”
Born and bred in Leicestershire, Choudhury has always had a special connection with Bangladesh. Although his father is from Grenada, his stepfather is from Bangladesh. Choudhury recalls how as a child his regular trips to the family’s village helped keep him grounded and appreciative.
Now as a father of three, Choudhury wants his children to experience the same.
“I always had a connection with Bangladesh, from speaking the language to my mum cooking Bangladeshi dishes every day,” he says. “I went back to Bangladesh every year up until I started my scholarship with Leicester. It was an eye-opener to me from a very young age on how to be grateful and how people are born into different situations.
“It’s very much like a farming village and a lot of the people lived in mud huts. When I first went, there wasn’t really any electricity. It was like running generators and water wells and stuff like that.
“It was amazing, especially for me to be from the UK and experience that at such a young age.
“It teaches you a lot of gratitude and just to see the quality of life, which was amazing if I’m honest. With what they had, their quality of life now, how the people were in the villages was amazing, and then (it was good) for me and my younger brothers and sisters to experience that.
“They’ve got freedom. Everyone is like one close-knit family in that culture.”
Choudhury now has a Bangladeshi passport and has been waiting for clearance to join up with the squad. He might come from a very different footballing background, but he has no concerns that he will be able to integrate into the Bangladesh setup.
“I’m sure that they’ve got a really good dressing room that hopefully welcomes me with open arms,” he says. “I am sure they speak English, but I also speak enough Bangladeshi to communicate. I’m looking forward to learning their traditions and their culture.”
(Top photo: George Wood/Getty Images)
