Shamit Shome ready to star for Cavalry FC 🇨🇦 & Bangladesh 🇧🇩 | THE SIT-DOWN by Visa 🎙️
He's a Canadian Premier League champion, won a Canadian Championship and played across the continent in the Concacaf Champions Cup.
Now, at 27, Cavalry FC midfielder Shamit Shome is set to embark on a new journey in international football, one that brings him back to his roots.
Earlier this week, the Bangladesh national federation announced that Shome's one-time association switch from Canada had been approved by FIFA, and that he is now eligible to represent the nation of his parent's birth at the international level.
"It's something that I'm proud about," Shome told CanPL.ca this week, "having some family that still live there on my dad's side, that's where my parents are from, that's the culture that I was raised in, from a young age. So I think it's an exciting experience that I'm looking forward to."
Born in Edmonton, Alta., both of Shome's parents are from Sylhet. He initially made his professional debut back in 2016 with hometown FC Edmonton, before joining CF Montréal (then the Montréal Impact) in MLS the following season.
Shome has been with Cavalry FC since 2023, making 61 appearances in all competitions for the club so far. Last year, he won a CPL championship with the team when they beat Forge 2-1 in the 2024 final.
Interest from the Bangladesh federation dates back several years, but it was only over the past few months that those conversations became serious.
"It just sounded like the right time, the right opportunity to take it and challenge myself to a different world of football," said Shome.
Even before his move was made official, Shome felt the love from Bangladesh's incredibly passionate supporters. Fans with Bangladesh flags started showed up to Cavalry home games, and even recently in Toronto when he played against York United in a CPL match.
"It's cool to feel all the support, like they're crazy about their football, so I feel very embraced, and already part of the team and part of the country," said Shome. "It just fills me with a lot of pride. It's funny to see guys come out to games in Toronto, in Calgary now, and it's a new experience for me, and something that's different. But very, very cool and something that I'll cherish for my entire career, looking back on it."
Shome joins at an exciting time for the program. Despite a ranking of 183rd in the world, there has been a real push from the federation of late to raise their standards, and recruit players with Bangladeshi heritage playing abroad.
The highest profile recruit is Leicester City midfielder Hamza Choudhury, a player with English Premier League experience who after representing England at the youth level, officially switched his allegiances to Bangladesh in December.
"I think a player like Hamza Choudhury kind of sets the standard for players they're trying to recruit," said Shome. "And so for me, that was also a little bit of an extra push, of 'why not? Why should I not go and do this'?"
Shome was required to file a one-time switch under FIFA in order to represent Bangladesh because he had previously represented Canada at the international level. He played multiple matches at the youth level, before earning two senior caps in friendlies in 2020 against Barbados and Iceland.
"I will forever be grateful for the opportunities I received with the Canadian Men’s National team, from the U-18 level to the senior level," said Shome. "Once the opportunity to change my allegiance arose, I felt as though now was the right time to do so and test myself at the international level.”
Unfortunately for Shome, there's no possibility of what would be an incredible moment of playing in the 2026 FIFA World Cup in his nation of birth. Bangladesh were eliminated from the qualifiers in the second round over the summer.
However, he looks set to join a Bangladesh team attempting to quality for only their second ever AFC Asian Cup, and first since 1980. Bangladesh are already off to a strong start, with a 0-0 draw against India in India in Group C action, with Shome now eligible to be called up in June when they face Singapore at home.
"It's international football that I'm not used to, where you're playing to get into something, to qualify for something," said Shome. "It's a different kind of pressure, different kind of football match. I'm just excited for the challenge and a different style of football, international football and fighting for AFC qualification."
As Shome embarks on this next chapter of his career he is looking to challenge himself in as many ways as possible: different environments, different locations and different conditions. He couldn't be prouder that he now gets to do so while wearing the shirt of the Bangladesh national team.
