Hamza leaves door open for Bangladesh

British-Bangladeshi footballer Hamza Choudhury has left the chance to play for the Bangladesh national team open as he said that he would be honoured to represent the red and greens.

Hamza, a midfielder by trait, came through the ranks at Premier League club Leicester City and is currently on loan at another Championship side Watford.

He has played 53 times in the Premier League for Leicester and has also taken part in UEFA Europa League and UEFA Conference League. He also represented the England Under-21 side.

The 24-year-old, in an interview to celebrate his appointment as an ambassador for Muslim athlete group Nujum Sports, said that he would be ‘more than proud’ to represent Bangladesh, but added that he wanted to see how things turn out in the next couple of years.

“Yeah I think so, I definitely think so. I want to see how well I do in the next couple of years, but I’d be more than proud, more than honoured to go and play for Bangladesh, and almost have more of a reach, going back there more regularly,” Hamza said.

The midfielder also said that he was surprised by the reaction he received from Bangladesh upon his success in the Premier League.

“I was surprised at the beginning [about the impact of my success back in Bangladesh]. Maybe that was because my family tried to keep me as grounded as possible when I first made my debut and after my first few games, and stuff like that.

“I didn’t realise how much of an impact it could actually have until the messages were like flowing and flowing. My mum used to be up all night because my aunties and my cousins were calling from Bangladesh,” he said.

Hamza said that he might visit Bangladesh during the World Cup 2022 when all European football would be at a halt.

“Maybe I’ll go back to Bangladesh during the winter break, we’ll see how many days we get off [because of the Qatar World Cup]. I want to take my kids back there because I want to give them a bit of my childhood. We used to go every year back to Bangladesh, literally, from when I was one, and it’s a different world,” the 24-year-old said.