The National Sports Council (NSC) has called upon all federations in the country to integrate high-skilled athletes of Bangladeshi origin and encourage them to represent Bangladesh.
According to the long-serving captain, the most notable transformation since Hamza’s arrival has been a dramatic rise in team confidence.
Jamal Bhuiyan, the most-capped player in Bangladesh’s history, is slowly becoming a peripheral figure in the team despite being the captain. To know his views on this issue and his overall plans in football, The Daily Star's Anisur Rahman and Atique Anam caught up with the Denmark-born midfielder. Following are the excerpts of the interview.
Hamza Choudhury was named in the starting XI for Bangladesh in their AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers fixture against India, with regular captain Jamal Bhuiyan kept on the bench.
As Bangladesh gear up for their crucial Asian Cup Qualifiers fixture against India, captain Jamal Bhuiyan likened the excitement surrounding Hamza Choudhury’s homecoming to that of a global superstar.
Bangladesh national football team captain Jamal Bhuiyan said it would be a proud moment for the country to see Leicester City midfielder Hamza Choudhury put on a red and green jersey, but wants to see more players like Hamza playing in the Bangladesh ranks.
Bangladesh coach Javier Cabrera has not included captain Jamal Bhuiyan in the preliminary squad for the upcoming FIFA friendlies against Maldives at home next month.
Bangladesh football team were expecting tough competition from Bhutan in the two FIFA friendly fixtures, the first of which kicks off at the Changlimithang Stadium in Thimphu at 6:00pm today. And that is not necessarily due to the strength of the opposition but also an apparent lack of match-practice and fitness of the Bangladesh players.
Bangladesh football team captain Jamal Bhuiyan said that he had signed a contract with a local club on Friday but the midfielder was among the ones who were excluded from the list of players registered by the clubs for the upcoming Bangladesh Premier League (BPL).
Sol de Mayo will play their next match on September 9, while Jamal will be back in Bangladesh on Wednesday to join the camp for next month's FIFA friendlies against Afghanistan.
Bangladesh national football team's head coach Javier Cabrera has praised captain Jamal Bhuiyan's move to Argentine club football, calling it a good move for Bangladesh and the player.
Although the term of Jamal’s contract was not confirmed, Sol De Mayo informed that they would release Jamal for his national duty.
Bangladesh captain Jamal Bhuiyan has posted a picture of himself holding his Bangladesh jersey at the Argentine Football Association on his social media accounts a couple of hours ago, stoking further speculation whether he is indeed joining a third-tier Argentine club.
Jamal informed that he and two of his friends were invited to play a friendly match in Argentina but he is yet to make a decision.
The 33-year-old captain, who has worked under different foreign and local coaches and seen the ups and downs of the team, spoke elaborately regarding the difference from the previous campaigns to the recent one and what he feels should be the ideology for the team going forward. Excerpts of the interview, taken by The Daily Star’s Anisur Rahman, are as follows.
Jamal Bhuiyan said that it would have been best for Emiliano Martinez to have made a public appearance during his short visit to Bangladesh when the Bangladesh football team captain talked over the phone with Satadru Dutta, the chief of the company that brought the Argentine to the subcontinent for the first time.
The 30-year-old goalkeeper spent 11 hours in the Bangladesh capital, with his itinerary featuring a visit to a digital business company office and a visit to the Prime Minister’s Office before his departure for the capital of West Bengal.
Javier Cabrera's troops are brimming with confidence, having secured a semifinal berth for the first time in 14 years in the regional football extravaganza. The booters now have their sights on the final -- which Bangladesh last reached almost two decades ago in Pakistan in 2005
Bangladesh have already achieved their SAFF Championship objective -- reaching the semifinal this edition. But following inspirational performances in the final two group games, against Maldives and Bhutan, Jamal Bhuiyan and Co. are now aiming to go even further as they take on Kuwait, arguably the toughest team in the tournament, in Saturday’s first semifinal at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru.
