Expatriates player flock to age-based football
Following the trend set by the national football team, the presence of expatriate footballers and those of Bangladeshi descent is also increasing in age-group teams.
Continuing this trend, Adam Abbas, a forward of Bangladeshi descent and former Manchester United Academy player, has joined the camp of the Bangladesh Under-20 national youth football team.
He joined the Under-20 team’s camp at the Jashore Shamsul Huda Academy in the afternoon, after arriving in Dhaka on Saturday morning.
The AFC U-20 Asian Cup qualifiers will take place from August 31 to September 6. Bangladesh will compete in Group B of the tournament.
Bangladesh has three matches in this group competition, which is set to take place in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
The opponents are Uzbekistan on August 31, Syria on September 3, and India on September 6.
Three expatriate footballers of Bangladeshi origin initially joined the Under-20 team’s camp.
Italy-based winger Tanjil and Switzerland-based winger Safwan could not remain in the camp as they arrived with injuries. England-based Kalim Islam also returned, as organizing his paperwork would take time.
US-based Ronan and Declan Sullivan, who played in the last SAFF -20 Championship, could not be brought to this camp as their universities did not grant them clearance; meanwhile, another footballer from England was also unable to make the trip.
In total, there are currently five expatriate footballers of Bangladeshi descent now in the camp.
Three are based in England: Defender Zidan Yusuf, striker Mohammad Mahi Khan, and winger Adam Abbas.
The other two are Ishan Malik, based in Australia, and striker Farzad Aftab, based in the United States.
There is considerable curiosity surrounding Adam Abbas, the latest addition to the camp.
His maternal grandparents are Bangladeshi; born to a British mother of Bangladeshi descent and a Jamaican father, Adam spent about four years at the renowned Manchester United Academy.
He also played for Burnley’s Under-18 team. He ultimately did not secure a contract with the club due to injury.
Under England Head Coach Gerard Jones, who took charge a month and a half ago, a foreign fitness trainer and a goalkeeping coach are currently with the squad at the camp in Jashore.
Following a screening process among the initial 43 players called up, 26 remain in the camp; the final squad will consist of 23 players.
