- The midfielder made several appearances for England at Under-21 level
- He has been persistently encouraged to make the switch by the country’s fans
- The nation he will represent is ranked 185th in the world by FIFA
A Leicester City star has revealed his decision to switch his national allegiance away from England.
The announcement was made on the club’s official X account, with the player in question holding up the flag of his new nation.
The midfielder was born in Loughborough and has been capped seven times by England at Under-21 level.
However, he has failed to break into the England senior team and at the age of 27, he has opted to seek pastures new in his quest for experience on the international stage.
This comes to the delight of fans residing in his new country, who have badgered the player on social media to make the change ever since he made his Leicester debut seven years ago.
Their persistence has paid off and now, Hamza Choudhury will represent Bangladesh – the homeland of his mother.
Hamza Choudhury has been at Leicester City since 2005 and made his senior debut at the club in 2017
Choudhury was a highly-touted youth prospect and made a handful of appearances for England at Under-21 level
‘It’s something that’s been in the works for a couple of years,’ Choudhury toldThe Athletic.
‘I represented England in the youth team, but as my career progressed, it came to fruition that is not an option for me.
‘It’s something I’ve definitely always had in the back of my mind, that I’d like to represent Bangladesh — and the people of Bangladesh more importantly.
‘I’ve got a really good connection with the fans in Bangladesh. I get messages every day letting me know that they want me to come and play.
‘I also feel like it’s something that I wanted to do to have some more exposure for Bangladesh on the footballing stage.’
Bangladesh are currently ranked 185th in the world by FIFA and most recently finished bottom of their qualifying group for the 2026 World Cup.
They will hope the injection of Premier League talent can lead to better things for the nation, with Choudhury intent on improving footballing infrastructure in the country.
‘It’s probably a bit of a misconception that cricket is definitely their main sport, although they are most successful in it,’ he added. ‘But I think everyone’s main sport that they love watching and playing is football.
Choudhury was a regular starter for Leicester in their Championship-winning season last year
Choudhury will look to stamp his mark on the international stage and propel Bangladesh up the FIFA world rankings
‘They’ve just not been really fortunate enough or have the infrastructure yet to develop and grow these players to reach the European leagues, which hopefully can provide a stepping stone for them to have more players in the European leagues or the top leagues.
‘I know they are absolutely crazy about football. I hope I can open up channels for more Bangladeshis to play in the top five leagues or in Europe, or just have a way of getting themselves into the bigger leagues and giving them some more exposure.
‘Hopefully, in time, I can put into place some sort of structure in the younger age groups and the younger local teams to be able to do that.
‘The Bangladesh Federation has been doing lots of work already, but if I can give them a different sort of outlook, a European outlook, I hope that helps.’