Five expatriate players set for Bangladesh football trial

One is coming from Australia, another from England, while two have experience playing club football in two European countries. And one of them has even decided to give up his Japanese passport to play for Bangladesh!

Bangladesh is set to get not one or two, but five more expatriate footballers. Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) Vice-President Fahad Karim has given a major update on the five players. He said they will join the national team camp soon.

However, will they get a direct place in the national team? The answer is no. They will first have to pass a test. And they will have only five days to do so. If they can impress Thomas Doley during the trial, they will get the opportunity to represent Bangladesh in the red and green jersey.

But who are these five expatriate footballers? After Hamza, Shamit, Zayan and Fahamedul, who are set to wear the national team jersey?

Let’s start with Arham Islam. The youngster, who grew up in Australia, has also played for Bangladesh’s age-group teams. He featured for the Under-17 side in the AFC U-17 Asian Cup qualifiers. He later represented Australia at Under-20 level.

Bangladesh wanted Arham for the November window, but he cannot join because of his examinations. However, he is interested in playing for Bangladesh. If everything goes well, he could be seen in the red and green jersey during the March window.

Then there is Yusuf Ahmed. The 19-year-old, who grew up in England, mainly plays as an attacking midfielder but can also operate as a forward. Yusuf is currently associated with Birmingham, and the process of obtaining his Bangladeshi passport has also been completed.

The biggest development is that he has already spoken with coach Thomas Doley. Yusuf is expected to join the national team camp very soon.

Next comes Debjit Sarkar from Italy. The youngster plays fourth-tier football. BFF Vice-President Fahad Karim has already handed his profile to Thomas Doley. The coach has also agreed to give him an opportunity to come to camp and prove himself.

Debjit has already arrived in Bangladesh to join the camp.

Yasir Tahmid Hasan could be a new option in defence. The centre-back is currently playing on loan for a fourth-tier club in Romania. His parent club is in the third tier.

Yasir can play as a right-back as well as a centre-back. Fahad Karim said he could soon travel from Romania to Dhaka to join the national team camp.

And finally, there is Shuki Itofusa. His story is the most unusual of all. The Japan-raised footballer is so eager to play for Bangladesh that he has decided to give up his Japanese passport.

He has already arrived in Bangladesh and joined Fortis FC. He has also obtained a Bangladeshi birth registration. Now, he is waiting only for his passport. Fahad Karim hopes the passport will be ready within a day or two.

However, the door to the national team is not yet fully open for these players. They are coming to Bangladesh at their own expense. They will spend five days in Thomas Doley’s camp.

During these five days, the coach will assess their performances, abilities and capacity to adapt to the national team. Doley will then decide who stays and who is left out.

-MT