India wants to bring in people of Indian origin from abroad like Hamza

Hamza Chowdhury was not born in Bangladesh, but he is now a footballer for the Bangladesh national team. The footballer, who grew up in the UK, has donned the red-green jersey with Bangladeshi citizenship through his mother. He will make his debut for the Bangladesh team in the Asian Cup qualifiers against India on Tuesday.

Like the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF), the All-India Football Federation (AIFF) also wants to include players of Indian origin who grew up abroad in their national football team. The AIFF is preparing a policy framework in this regard.

• Indian news agency PTI reported that the AIFF is considering bringing in players of Indian origin living abroad to fill the shortage of strikers for the Indian football team. In this regard, AIFF President Kalyan Choubey told PTI, "We are preparing a policy framework under which players of Indian origin living abroad can be included in the team." Many countries are already working on such policies. "If people of Indian origin living abroad can play, these players can be game-changers for Indian football," Chaubey hopes.