A Danish footballer of Bangladesh origin named Jamal Bhuyan is likely to represent the national side after he was picked by the Bangladesh Football Federation in the 27-member preliminary squad for the World Cup pre-qualifiers on Friday.
Jamal, son of a Bangladeshi living in Denmark, was born and brought up in Copenhagen and represented the country’s most famous football club FC Copenhagen at the under-19 level.
The midfielder later moved to second tier team Hellerup IK in 2009 and has since been an integral part of the team’s starting line-up.
BFF’s national team management committee chairman Badal Roy said they came to know about Jamal through an agent and spoke to him over phone to know if he was willing to represent Bangladesh at international level.
‘For some days we are scouting talents among Bangladeshis living abroad and Jamal is the one who we are really looking for. We saw his game on the internet and talked to him over phone. He is really keen to play for Bangladesh,’ said Badal.
Badal said Jamal, who holds a Danish passport, will arrive in Dhaka in mid-June to face a trial. If coach Robert Rubcic likes him he will be picked to play for Bangladesh in the World Cup pre-qualifiers against Pakistan.
Bangladesh will face Pakistan in the first leg match on June 29 in Islamabad and the return leg will be held at the Bangabandhu National Stadium on July 3.
The BFF will trim down the 27-member squad to 18 before Rubcic starts his training camp.
Apart from the inclusion of Jamal, the preliminary squad features no surprises. Seasoned player Enamul Haque, Waly Faisal and Tauhidul Alam Sabuj did not find any place in the squad yet again having been overlooked in AFC Challnge Cup in March.
Courtesy of New Age
