With the imminent arrival of Hamza Choudhury and an air of expectation following the swearing-in of a new governing body a few months ago, Bangladesh Football Federation has snapped up a long-term sponsor for the men's senior national team.

United Commercial Bank, a first-generation private commercial bank of the country, has come forward to sponsor the men's team for the next five years, confirmed Bangladesh Football Federation's vice-president Fahad Karim.

"There is a positivity from the sponsors regarding football these days. I won't say they are very excited, but when we approach sponsors, we get a positive response. I think Hamza Choudhury is definitely a factor in this, plus the overall expectation regarding football is much higher nowadays," Karim told The Daily Star, informing that the deal would be part-cash-part-kind.  

A memorandum of understanding in this regard between the two parties will be signed at the bank's head office on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the BFF vice-president elaborated on the schedule of Hamza's visit to Bangladesh for the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers fixture against India.

The 27-year-old, who will be making his debut for Bangladesh against India in Shillong on March 25, will arrive on the morning of March 17 and spend the next two days in his ancestral home, informed Karim.

"Hamza Choudhury will land in Sylhet at 11:40am on March 17 on a Biman flight from Manchester. He will be accompanied by nine people – his family members including his mother, his wife and his three kids. Four or five of our executive committee members will be there to receive him. We will have a vehicle arranged for him; he and his entourage will travel from there to Habiganj, which is his ancestral home. He will spend the night there and also the entire day of March 18 there, which will be a completely private affair," Karim said.

The BFF vice-president said that Hamza and coach Javier Cabrera will face the media on March 19 afternoon ahead of the team's departure the following day.

"Hamza will come to Dhaka either on the night of 18th or the morning of 19th, and will join the camp strightaway. Then there will be a team photoshoot followed by a press meet, where Hamza and coach Javier Cabrera will face the media," Karim said, adding that due to the tight schedule in Dhaka, there will not be any special public appearance for Hamza.