Hamza playing for Bangladesh could become a reality soon: Cabrera

Leicester City midfielder Hamza Choudhury could play for Bangladesh in the near future, said Bangladesh head coach Javier Cabrera on Thursday. 

Born in the United Kingdom, Hamza has Grenadian and Bangladeshi heritage and the 26-year-old has already stated his eagerness to play for the Bangladesh national team to the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF). 

"I think we have to be very positive about the situation with Hamza," Cabrera told reporters today ahead of the national team leaving for Saudi Arabia for a two-week preparation camp, starting on March 3, before their upcoming World Cup Qualifiers fixtures next month. 

Following that camp the booters will travel to Kuwait to play against Palestine on March 21 before hosting the same opponents on March 26 at Bashundhara Kings Arena in Dhaka. Bangladesh announced a 28-member preliminary squad for these fixtures yesterday. 

It was speculated that Hamza and Shamit Shome, a Canadian football player of Bangladeshi descent, would be included in the squad for the latest World Cup Qualifiers. 

However, the BFF had earlier mentioned that the process of ensuring the eligibility of such foreign-based players would take some time.  

But Cabrera today did raise the hopes of fans who have been longing for it to be a reality for a while now.

"Obviously, the management and the federation [BFF] will be able to give you more information, but to me, it is not relevant whether he [Hamza] is playing for us now, rather what is relevant to me is that it could become a reality sooner rather than later. Hopefully, we can have someone like him in the national team sooner," Cabrera said.