Expats’ trial ends in festive mood

The three-day trial organised by the Bangladesh Football Federation, titled "BFF next global star", concluded at the National Stadium in Dhaka in a festive atmosphere.

The trial ended with two matches of one-hour duration each – one for the under-19 level and the other for the under-23 level -- as the game's local governing body looks for talented Bangladeshi-origin footballers from across the world to strengthen its pipeline.

Following the second match, 49 players, who had come from 14 countries of the world with their families of their own expenditure, received certificates and souvenirs from the BFF high-ups.

And then the national stadium turned into a farewell for those budding talents -- swarmed by scores of fans -- happy to take home memories of bonds they had forged with their peers over the last few days.

Most of them had come to Dhaka seeing the likes of Hamza Choudhury and Shamit Shome don the Bangladesh jersey in recent months as the BFF expedited the process of blooding the national team with expat footballers.

Nabil Nasir, a winger from the USA, said he arrived in Sylhet a month ago and trained by himself with the aim of getting selected.

"My favourite Bangladeshi are Hamza and Shamit. Among the locals, I like Rakib," Nasir told reporters, adding that he would definitely like to play in Bangladesh's local league if he gets a call-up from the local clubs.

Ashiqur Rahman, another midfielder at the trial for the under-23s, said he would be going back to London and work hard, with an aim of getting called up for the camp for next month for AFC U-23 Asian Cup Qualifiers.

However, there was no information divulged from the BFF regarding whether there will be any results announced regarding selection anytime soon. When asked over phone, one of the panel coaches of the trial said: "I can't talk about this. We have been asked not to speak to media on this issue."

While there was expectation and goodwill among the footballers, the event produced a bit of embarrassment for the BFF as the national team's head coach, Javier Cabrera, was booed off after the proceedings by a few hundred fans who were allowed free entry in the galleries.