“There’s no place like home.”

It’s a saying that resonates with many. A reminder that no matter how far life takes us, or where in the world we end up, it’s almost impossible to forget what “home” means. But to Leicester City midfielder Hamza Choudhury, home is his country of origin – Bangladesh. 

The reason why home is such a powerful thing is because it grounds us. It introduces us to the principles and values that we live our lives by. It fosters community and teaches us to consider the wellbeing of others as much as we consider our own. But above all else, home offers an oasis to return to whenever you need it. Born and raised in Loughborough as the son of two first-generation immigrants, Choudhury’s now ready to return home as a king.

After representing England – where he was born – at under-21 level, Choudhury has officially made the switch to represent Bangladesh at international level. It marks the first time ever a Premier League footballer will play for the Bengal Tigers. Perhaps Choudhury’s crowning achievement in an already promising career. But this isn’t the only bit of history he’s made as a Bangladeshi baller. Nor is it the first time he’s used historic moments to spotlight issues much bigger than him. 

Making his top flight debut back in 2017, Choudhury became the first player of Bangladeshi heritage to play in the Premier League and has since worked to encourage more British Asians into football. When Leicester won the FA Cup in 2019, he was the first Bangladeshi to win a major trophy in England and used his platform in that moment to show his solidarity with the people of Palestine. Some people don’t allow others to share in their successes but that isn’t the case with Hamza Choudhury. He uses his platform to ensure others feel seen and heard. Something his recent announcement to represent Bangladesh will no doubt also achieve. 

Every step Choudhury has taken in his career has led him to this milestone moment. From visiting his local village back home every year as a kid to captaining his boyhood club, Leicester City. VERSUS visited Choudhury at his family home in the Midlands last month to discuss the 27-year-old’s decision to represent Bangladesh, what can be done to make football more accessible for South Asian footballers and the responsibility that comes with being the first Bangladeshi to play in the Premier League. 

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VERSUS: What sort of impact do you think this will have on the Bangladeshi community in the UK?

Hopefully, more exposure for Bangladeshi football. Just seeing a familiar face does so much. There's been quite a lot in the media recently about people in our community not having a role model in football. Not necessarily someone who looks like them, but comes from the same background or has the same upbringing. In that way, it becomes less aspirational and more attainable. They can reach the same level that I have, and hopefully even surpass it. That's my main goal: to show people there are opportunities no matter where they start from. 

VERSUS: Why do you think other players choose to represent their places of origin?

That feeling of pride, of representing your people. I don't think you can ever come close to or recreate that. In English football, we have so many players of African heritage who might have been born and raised in the UK. But they decide to represent their countries of origin because those roots are just so strong. Home means different things to different people, and when you represent yours it's such a genuine, pure feeling. There shouldn’t be any judgement that comes with that decision. I think being a footballer in a European league comes with so much pressure, so just feel that sense of pure love – I don’t think you can get there anywhere else in football. A lot of people want you to succeed in football, but there’s just as many people who don’t want you to do so well either. 

With football being so competitive, and just constantly at such a high intensity, it's nice for you to be able to reach back to your roots and feel the joy you get from your home country. It's unconditional. Whether you play badly or not, it's like the family that you can come home to after a long day's work. It feels a bit like refuge in a way. 

VERSUS: Is it your hope to see more Bangladeshi players at the top level?

For sure! One million percent yes. It surprises me because I grew up with quite a few Bangladeshi kids when I was younger. A couple of them, if they weren’t as good as me, they were even better! Maybe not physically as good, but technically for sure. You touched on being Somali at one point today. Some of the best players I've ever seen were from Somalia. I can understand the difficulties of getting into football, believe me, but we need to make sure we’re providing access and opportunity to South Asian players when possible. Of course I feel really proud to be the first Bangladeshi to play in the Premier League but hopefully it opens up channels to other South Asian players. It’s great to be the first but it would be even better knowing I won’t be the last. 

VERSUS: What do you think can be done to make football more accessible to people from South Asian communities at the grassroots level?

Opening up channels for youngsters to get into different leagues, I think that’s really important. I know there is a little more representation compared to a few years ago, but there’s still so much more that needs to be done before the playing field is levelled. People from my generation, their parents were first-generation immigrants, in our culture there is a huge emphasis placed on hard work and education. The value placed on school and being academic is quite high, more so than playing sports like football – a sport that hasn’t always been the most welcoming to South Asians. 

But then on the flip side, what chance do you have if scouts aren't even at leagues or tournaments where young South Asian players are playing? Clubs need to broaden their horizons and go to these leagues and find hidden talent because I'm telling you, there's a lot of us out there. 

VERSUS: How do you think the younger Hamza would feel about this milestone moment?

Proud. Very, very proud. Bangladesh taught me a lot as a kid, some things I can hopefully pass on to my own children. It's just about gratitude and treating everyone the same, you know? England is definitely my home but so is Bangladesh. So, to be able to go back to my country of origin and represent the people I grew up with, it means everything to me – it fills me with so much joy and pride.

Photography: Carina Lammers

Assist: Michael Rankin

Styling: Roma Mitchell 

Interview: Ahmed Shooble

Production: Amie Cripps

VERSUS: When did you know you wanted to represent Bangladesh? Was there a particular moment that inspired you to make the switch?

Hamza Choudhury: No, not necessarily – I don't think there was a particular moment to be honest. Obviously, I've got close ties with Bangladesh, and I've been plenty of times when I was younger, but I can't say I thought too much about international football during those years. 

For a lot of people, especially those who grow up playing football, they dream of representing the country they were born in – and for me that was England, so I aimed for that once I was in the youth team. And even representing England at youth level was such an honour. As the years went by though, there were whispers about me potentially representing Bangladesh at senior level, and I started to think about it. My family back home had tried more than once to persuade me to play for Bangladesh, and so it wasn’t something I never thought about. It was always in the back of my mind, and so I spent a long time umming and ahhing about it. Eventually, I spoke to my family in England – and in Bangladesh – about officially making the switch. It’s a decision I am really proud of and I’m looking forward to what the future holds.  

VERSUS: You’ve spoken about having visited Bangladesh when you were younger. What are some of your earliest memories? 

Up until I was 16 I went every year with my family, sometimes even twice a year. Sadly, I’ve not been for the last 10 years or so; the life of a footballer can be fairly hectic and it can be quite hard to make sure you’re dividing up your time for everyone who needs it. I've got three young children now too, and they definitely keep me busy outside of football! But I do have a lot of childhood memories from all of those years visiting family in Bangladesh. 

My family’s based in Habiganj, in the Sylhet Division. I spent most of my time outside, totally free – it was completely different from growing up in the UK. It was late nights and roaming the streets freely without really having to wonder or be overly cautious about safety. I guess all of the families in the area knew each other, so they were really close and looked out for one another – it was amazing. As a kid coming from a fairly busy place like Loughborough, having your parents constantly worrying about where you are and what time you should be indoors all the time. And then to go to Bangladesh and just have pure freedom, it was so much fun. 

On the flip side, visiting Bangladesh so regularly taught me gratitude at a young age.  I saw quite a lot of people who didn’t have as much as me but were just as happy, if not more! And enjoying every bit of their lives. That taught me the true meaning of being grateful. When we’d visit we’d make sure to bring clothes with us – which caused a lot of arguments at the airport with overpacking! Us being there was enough, but the gesture and the fact we’d made the effort to bring those things with us, people really valued those actions. 

We were fortunate enough to grow up in the UK and have a lot of things – a lot of them we considered to be necessities when actually a lot of them aren’t. I saw a lot of people in Bangladesh, who I thought at the time, didn’t have the bare minimum. But they were happy. That taught me a valuable lesson at a young age. 

VERSUS: How big is football in Bangladesh?

A lot of people think cricket is the main sport but I think that's a bit of a misconception. I guess it’s because, as a nation, that’s the sport they’ve been most successful at. But I think the sport that they love most is definitely football. The national team hasn't had that much success so far. But if you go over during the World Cup, there's like half of Bangladesh supporting Argentina and half supporting Brazil. It gets really active, it's a real rivalry amongst the people in Bangladesh! It’s crazy to me, but like I said, the love for football there is massive.

VERSUS: Talk to me about the responsibility of representing Bangladesh as a Premier League player.

It's tough for me to comprehend the responsibility or the weight that comes with that. I've never really done it for anything apart from loving football and enjoying it. But as I've grown, I've sort of understood – or I'm trying to understand – the responsibilities that come with being the first Bangladeshi to play in the Premier League. Representing not just a minority of people, but a whole country. For me, I'm just proud. I've not really thought too much about the responsibility, too much. I'm sort of just taking it in my stride and enjoying the journey. 

VERSUS: What’s the first thing you did when you got your Bangladeshi passport?

My mum and dad came down with me to the Embassy in London to get it. They love going because they've had some hectic times in the past trying to get visas! So they definitely enjoyed this experience of going and being relaxed and being treated very nicely. It was an amazing day. There was a lot of calling family back home in Bangladesh! As soon as we got in the car, mum was on the phone to all my aunties and uncles. I'm really, really close to all my family and they were all just so proud.