Sports Desk:

The inclusion of another expatriate footballer in the Bangladesh national football team is only a matter of time as Canadian-born 27-year-old midfielder Shamit Shome has finally received a Bangladeshi passport. Now he is just waiting for FIFA’s clearance.

A media outlet in the country quoted Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) vice president Fahad Karim as saying that Shamit Shome has received his passport. Fahad Karim said, “Now we will send the necessary documents to FIFA. If FIFA gives him clearance, there will be no more obstacles for Samit to play for Bangladesh.”

Both Shamit’s parents are Bangladeshi, but he was born and spent his childhood in Canada. In 2020, he played two international matches for the Canadian national team. After that, Shamit, who has been away from international football for a long time, is currently playing for Canadian Premier League club Cavalry FC.

A big test awaits the Bangladesh team on June 10 as the opponent in the Asian Cup qualifiers is Singapore. Whether Shamit will be seen on the field in that match or not depends on the decision of the FIFA Players Status Committee. If everything goes right, this new ‘midfield general’ of Bangladesh can be seen in the Singapore match.

The interest of foreign-born footballers to play in the Bangladesh team is not new. It started with Jamal Bhuiyan, who came from Denmark in 2013 and made his debut in the national team. Then the debut of Tariq Kazi, who grew up in Finland, and Hamza Chowdhury, who recently played in the English Premier League, has accelerated the trend.