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The recent debut of Sheffield United midfielder Hamza Choudhury for the Bangladesh national football team has sparked interest among dozens of expatriate footballers to represent the country.

According to the Bangladesh Football Federation, approximately 35 male and four female Bangladeshi-origin footballers have so far expressed their interest in playing for the country at various levels.

Championship side Sheffield midfielder Hamza, who is currently on loan from Premier League side Leicester City, made his debut for Bangladesh in a goalless draw against India in the third round of the AFC Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers on March 25.

The 27-year-old’s inclusion marked a historic moment as the first active Premier League player to represent Bangladesh, drawing widespread attention and inspiring other expatriates to explore opportunities with the national team.

Hamza, who was cleared by FIFA in December 2024, is the third expatriate footballer to play for Bangladesh, following Danish-born midfielder Jamal Bhuyan in 2013 and Finland-born defender Tariq Kazi in 2021.

Hamza’s inclusion got the overwhelming attention of the football-loving fraternity in and outside the country that also encouraged the BFF to welcome more expatriate footballers, who are expressing their eagerness to represent Bangladesh.

Shakib Mahmud, a Denmark-based coach, has been voluntarily scouting expatriate talents and sharing a list of potential candidates with the BFF.

‘We want to scout talented footballers and it will continue. Shakib has been helping us voluntarily. The BFF organisers are wide open to welcoming expatriate footballers. But they have to go through the trial process. We would be happy if we got at least one player,’ BFF vice-president Fahad Karim told ¶¶Òõ¾«Æ·.

Among the 35 male players who are interested in the trial, 12 are based in England, six in the USA, three each in Sweden, Wales and Italy, two each in Canada and France and one each in Australia, Portugal, Spain, Estonia and the UAE.

While, among the four female players, three – Shyla Ahmed, Johura, and Inayah Begum – are from England, and Anika Siddique is from Sweden.

‘I have been following these footballers’ profiles for the last two and a half years through an Instagram account, namely ‘Bangladeshi Ballers’, run by an England-based Bangladeshi descent, Zahir Uddin. I took his consent before communicating with the interested young footballers and providing their names to BFF,’ said Shakib, who has been serving as an under-17 team coach of a local club in Denmark.

Two players—midfielder Abdul Kadir and defender Elman Matin—completed a three-day trial with the Bangladesh U-19 team on Saturday.

Meanwhile, 17-year-old forward Fazad and 15-year-old goalkeeper Uzeayer Chowdhury began their assessments on Friday at the BFF Elite Football Academy.

BFF technical director Saiful Bari Titu and youth coach Golam Rabbani Choton have been overseeing the trials.

‘As the organisers, we are facilitating the scouting procedure. Our technical director, Elite Football Academy coach and some other staff are conducting the trial,’ said Fahad.

‘Most of the players will go through the trial process till the end of June. Let’s see how many players we can get for national or age level,’ added Fahad, who is communicating with interested expatriate players from the BFF end.

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LIST OF MALE FOOTBALLERS

England (12): Kareem Hassan-Smith, Shamir Kha, Ariyan Amir, Rizwan Hussain, Ashiqur Rahman, Tofael Tanim, Elman Matin, Haroon Salah, Nabil Rahman , Iman Alam, Ibrahim Nawaz, Sheikh Al-Amin.

USA (6): Amir Sami, Fazad, Mohammed Nabir, Trevor Islam, Rakibul Rhythm, Nabil Nasir

Wales (3): Jey Uddin, Zahid Islam, Mohammed Sameer Miah

Italy (3): Yasin Hossain, Abdul Kadir, Mahi Rahman

Sweden (2): Navid Waliullah, Nasif Marjuk

Canada (2): Nabid Ahmed, Yasar Hassan

France (2): Farhan Mahmud, Rifat Khan

Portugal (1): Lisan Hawlader

Spain (1): Saikat Barua

Estonia (1): Farhan Kalam

Australia (1): Syed Taysir Alam

UAE (1): Uzeayer Chowdhury

LIST OF FEMALE FOOTBALLERS

England (3): Shyla Ahmed, Johura, Inayah Begum

Sweden (1): Anika Siddique