That Bangladeshis are mad, absolutely crazy about football, came to the surface once more when Hamza Choudhury, the British Bangladeshi footballer, landed in Dhaka two days ago.
From the airport to his hometown in Sylhet, it’s been a celebration of not just a top class footballer but of the game itself and, Bangladesh.
In Hamza’s introduction on Wikipedia, his ‘Nationality’ reads, Bangladeshi, English.
Well, once he hits the field donning Bangladeshi colours against India on 25 March, in the hearts of millions of Bangladeshis he will be only Bangladeshi.
We all know that Hamza’s mother is from Sylhet and, therefore, the 27 year old can speak the Sylheti dialect, which I am sure will prove to be his asset as there’s always a desire to hear local dialects still surviving/thriving among expatriate Bangladeshis.
When Hamza said in the unmistakable Sylheti dialect: amra win khormu against India, the nation went wild!
But that one line drew a passionate response from fans in Bangladesh who have been waiting for decades for the game to come out of a morass.
Can Hamza be the talisman?
Hamza’s arrival can truly be deemed a new dawn for football in Bangladesh as this will be the first time a footballer with experience from the premier division in England will be representing the country at the international level.
For quite some time, South Asian football teams have been scouting for talents who grew up and became professional footballers abroad.
The trend began with Pakistan when the country took on Zesh Rehman, who played for Fulham, Norwich City and then, was transferred to Queens Park Rangers.
Zesh also played for England U-18, U-19 and U-20 teams.
The struggling Pakistan team showed promise as it went to the regional SAFF semi-final, eventually losing to Bangladesh.
Under his captaincy, Pakistan held Iraq to a nil all draw in Pakistan during the 2010 World Cup qualifiers.
Bangladesh included Jamal Bhuiyan, the Danish Bangladeshi, who is still the poster boy of our football along with Tariq Kazi, born in Finland and played for the Finnish U-17, U-18 and U-19 teams.
This time, along with Hamza, there is another dynamite called Fahamedul, who reportedly plays for Italian Serie D club Olbia Calcio.
Fahamedul is believed to be agile, fast and a powerhouse of energy, showing his mettle during the practice match in Saudi Arabia.
With Hamza and Fahamedul, the Bangladesh team will certainly be a re-invigorated lot.
Although some coaches and football experts have commented that in a game of 11 persons, one or two cannot make a whole lot of difference.
This is partially true, but again, the counter argument is in the history of football, we have seen countless teams go through a golden period, riding on the back of a few supremely talented players.
This is not to say that with Hamza and Fahamedul, we begin to expect the impossible.
We are not going to become a major Asian force anytime soon and no, Bangladesh will not be challenging the top flight teams.
But then, that’s not our objective at this moment!
In fact, for Bangladesh, which has been desperately trying to regain the south Asian regional supremacy, top Asian level is still a chimera.
The last time we triumphed in the region was 2003 and till then, it’s been a downhill ride with ignominy after ignominy as the team often saw an early exit from the group stages.
At this moment, in 2025, we want to regain that regional spot!
All throughout the 80s and 90s, any regional football tournament meant India and Bangladesh in the final.
While other teams made it to the final on some occasions, Bangladesh was always regarded as a regional power house after India.
In the World Cup Qualifiers for 1986, Bangladesh startled the Asian football fraternity, winning against both Thailand and Indonesia in the away matches in Bangladesh, with Elias, Chunnu and Kaiser Hamid scoring for Bangladesh.
Eventually, Indonesia moved to the final round as the group champions but Bangladesh had shown that on home soil they could be a formidable force.
The image featured is from the cover of the now defunct weekly news magazine Bichitra, showing Bangladeshi striker/midfielder Chunnu raising hands in joy after scoring against Indonesia.
The pose and the self-belief of the image has eluded us for the last 20 years.
The task of the foreign recruits will be to add the edge to the team so it can once again be the regional top dog.
Hamza can certainly be the defining factor in the game against India on 25 March.
Add to that the dynamism of Fahamedul, topped with the revived gusto of the entire team.
Yes, in football, one man cannot do much but lest we forget, in current football, it’s that one strategically placed ball, which creates the foundation for a successful attack.
By the way, India has brought its football genius Sunil Chhetri, back from retirement for the upcoming matches and the first one against Bangladesh.
If one understands footballing language, this means India is not taking any chances.
In the colloquial lingo that translates to: bhoy paise!
Asian Cup Qualifiers under a new management:
The arrival of Hamza, the inclusion of Fahamedul coincide with the notable transformation of the Bangladesh Football Federation.
Following the July-August transition, the federation, under a new youth driven leadership, encapsulates the ideals and visions of the mass movement, which tore down the ancient regime to make way for fresh ideas and a renewed hope.
That buoyant mood is seeping through football with the new additions poised to achieve something in the upcoming Asian Cup Qualifiers.
Bangladesh is pitted against India, Singapore and Hong Kong.
If this had been the 1980s, most Bangladeshis would have said unequivocally that the only contention in the group would be between Bangladesh and India.
However, both Hong Kong and Singapore, ranked, 155 and 160 respectively are place higher than Bangladesh at 185.
From one angle, ranking matters, but from the angle of the game, which will be played on the field, ranking is just a number.
Actually, ranked lower will be in favour of Bangladesh because they will be playing without the tension of losing against a lower ranked side.
In any case, on the field, the difference is very little.
India is the highest ranked side in this meet, standing at 126 and as per experts, the team with the highest prospects of progressing to the next level.
Don’t want to get into an argument with the experts but this Bangladesh side, armed with ‘Aces of Spades’, will have a few surprises.
From an ultra-realistic angle, even if the team loses the away matches, in Bangladesh, they will prove that no one gets out of the tigers’ den without a few scratches.
*Towheed Feroze is a former journalist and a dyed in the wool, Bangladesh football team fan!