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Footballer’s success and Bangladeshi Heritage Honoured at City Restaurant

The achievements of a Leicester City footballer and his Bangladeshi heritage have been celebrated at a special event organised at the city’s award-winning Chutney Ivy restaurant.

Hamza Choudhury recently played his last game as a midfielder for Leicester City Football Club after signing for Sheffield United. As a man of Bangladeshi heritage, the 27-year-old also recently made the decision to represent Bangledesh at an international level.

Picture credit: Pukaar News

Shaf Islam, the Banglesdhi owner of Leicester’s Chutney Ivy restaurant, arranged a special event for the star, to celebrate his success and to wish him well as he embarks on this brand new chapter of his career.

“Hamza came into the restaurant, together with his parents and members of the Bangladesh Football Federation. They enjoyed a meal and I had a little thought,” he revealed.

“I offered to organise an event so that the local Bangladeshi community could have the opportunity to meet Hamza and congratulate him.

“They’re so proud that such a brilliant athlete and footballer, who plays in the premiership has chosen to play for the Bangladesh national team. He’s an inspiration for so many kids to follow their dreams.”

Around 60 people gathered in the venue’s basement bar, including children and leaders from Leicester’s Bangladeshi community.

VIPs from the Bangladesh government were also present on the night, which saw Hamza presented with a ‘Sports Personality of the Year’ award on behalf of last year’s Asian Achievers Awards.

“I’d never seen such delight, especially in the youngster’s faces. The joy that it brought – meeting Hamza was an amazing thing to see,” said Mr Islam.

“As Hamza has said himself, it was a lot of hard work, and it would never have been achieved without the support of his Mum and Dad. I think his success opens up something completely different for the South Asian community, whether you’re Bangladeshi, Indian or Pakistani.”

Picture credit: Pukaar News

Speaking about his international appointment, Hamza told a Bangladeshi news channel: “I’m very excited to go back to Bangladesh and meet all the fans from Bangladesh. 

“I’m a big believer in ‘the sky’s the limit’ and I’m sure together we can do something special. The team are a very tight knit group and they’ve got a great manager, so if we can show up in the games I think we should definitely aim to get to the Asian Games.

“My advice for youngsters is to work hard. I’m sure over the next few years we’ll see a lot of footballers breaking out of the South Asian community – hopefully bigger and better names than mine.”

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