Hey, Dad! There’s a Bangladeshi boy playing football in the MLS!
That’s Quinn Sullivan. He plays soccer for Philadelphia Union and the USA U-20s, and with one-quarter Bangladeshi heritage, is one of the only ones flying the flag outside of the South Asian country.
“Dad! Do you know about the Bangladeshi boy playing football here?”
It’s a normal question in the group chat of a family within the Bangladeshi diaspora. You hear of someone else from the Bangla culture doing something - really doing something - and you talk about it.
Sure, my dad asked if I meant Hamza Choudhury of Watford FC, formerly Leicester City FC (I did not - he’s the other one), but that speaks even more to the fervor and cheerleading that goes into seeing someone from that young country visibly succeeding, even if, like Quinn Sullivan, they’re fully committed to playing for the USA.
In the UK, for instance, where three of the top political positions are now taken by South Asians - Sadiq Khan, Rishi Sunak, and Humza Yousef. All three have quite different politics, but their achievements are celebrated quite equally by a singular cohort of cross-continental immigrants, regardless of whether or not those powerful men would rather rid the UK of our sort.
Or like when I, an Arsenal fan, felt an inexplicably visceral pride when I found out Chelsea defender Reece James hails from my cement-flavored hometown of Redbridge. Most people think that's in Surrey or Southampton. Reece James and me? We know it isn't. That roundabout is iconic.
By my count, Quinn Sullivan is the only player of Bangladeshi heritage playing football in the MLS right now, and the first in America.
He’s not the first Bangladeshi in MLS - that accolade goes to Canadian, Shamit Shome, who now plays for Cavalry FC in the Canadian league. Shome came to my attention in the notorious video of Arsenal legend Thierry Henry screaming at his Montreal Impact team in 2020. In those 60 seconds, Shome was twice the subject of Henry’s ire. Incidentally, that was Shome’s last season in MLS.
I get the feeling that Quinn Sullivan has a much brighter future.
He signed for the then Supporters’ Shield holders, Philadelphia Union at just 16. He’s received ever-increasing minutes as part of one of the best soccer teams in the country. An exciting attacking midfielder with goals and assists in his repertoire, this May he will likely be a key part of the USA U-20 World Cup team in Indonesia country TBC (England?). 10 goals and 5 assists in 13 appearances at that level tells a better story than I ever could.
Wikipedia is to thank for identifying him to me as a Bangladeshi of note in America and Twitter’s search function is to thank for highlighting this tweet:
Woah. Dad! He’s got the Bangladesh flag in his bio! And he’s live-tweeting a Bangladesh national team match?
If it’s not clear why this is so exciting, consider that it’s an issue of representation, and we feed on morsels.
Consider that Bangladesh is the 8th most populous country in the world, ahead of Russia and Mexico (a bit of deja vu there for longtime readers) but sits 192nd out of 211 countries in the FIFA rankings. It’s reasonable to say that Bangladesh is better known as a cricketing nation.
Consider that when one of the top football magazines in the world puts out a fun tweet like this, there’s really not much point in someone like me playing along. Does Raheem “Raz” Sterling count? Maybe if I was a Rahim. Razvan Rat? Who? But sure, maybe if I crowbar a shortened version of my name into the game. Nah.
It’s not something that’s easy to fix, or maybe even possible, but in a world with increasing immigration and ensuing mixings of culture, it’s a feeling that more and more people will have growing up. A feeling of never fully being allowed to fit into the place they call home.
Now, with his braw Irish name, Quinn Sullivan isn’t going to be changing that aspect of it, but yeah someone, anyone talking about Bangladesh in terms of football? Wow. A player of Bangladeshi heritage playing in one of the top leagues, it’s big, big news for the Bideshi Deshis. Aspirational stuff.
So how much has Quinn Sullivan, a 18-year-old from Philadelphia learned about Bangladesh?
“I’m very early on. With my grandmother for the most part in Bangladesh, I don’t really get to speak to her, so it’s difficult, but I’ve been talking to her more and more. As you saw, I was watching soccer and that’s the forefront for my discoveries and interest.”
A Philly boy, born and bred, Sullivan comes from an influential soccer family. Both of his parents played professionally and, in a virtuous circle of fate, his grandfather even coached Quinn’s current head coach at Union, Jim Curtin in college.
“Having knowledge within the household has been really important because you’re always learning. It’s not just at training. It’s been important to always have someone who has your best interests in mind.”
Far from it being a nepo baby situation, however, the Sullivan soccer dynasty is built on footballing ability. That much is very apparent from those international U-20 stats above as well as the fact that in knowledgeable corners, Quinn’s 13-year-old brother, Cavan is being touted as the hottest Philly phenom since the Aaronsons.
Quinn’s heritage is a mix of German (dual citizen with USA), Irish, Italian, and Bangladeshi from that grandmother, Dr. Sultana Alam, who met Quinn’s grandfather while she was studying for a Ph.D. in Philadelphia.
Indeed, another headline for a different feature about Quinn Sullivan could go something like this:
Bangladeshi Freedom Fighter, Sultana Alam’s Grandson is an American Soccer Star
“Nani [Bangla for granny] was part of the blockade in the 1971 separation and helped organize protests. She had an influential role in that, which is very special.”
Back in 2016, current New York City Council member, Shahana Hanif - the first Bangladeshi ever elected to the NYC Council in 2021 - wrote a really great article about the documentary, Blockade, that Quinn’s grandmother features in.
The film is a passion project that follows Bangladeshi activists in and around Philadelphia risking their lives by protesting the Nixon-Kissinger administration’s covert support of Pakistan’s 1971 genocide against Bangladesh.
It’s a true tale of young Bangladeshis in Philly setting up a peaceful protest in conjunction with Martin Luther King staffers and Quaker and Jewish peace activists to physically prevent two Pakistani ships from docking on the Eastern Seaboard. The ships were planning to illegally load up with American arms to be used against the people of Bangladesh.
Blockade certainly seems worth a watch (I’d love to, but cannot find it - HELP!), but back to the football.
How about Bangladesh as a footballing nation? Quinn is racing down a clear pathway to becoming a full USA international, but how about being a role model for the next generation?
“Well, I’m the oldest of too many [cousins] to count. It’s funny because a couple of them asked for my soccer card for Christmas, so I have had a little thought about that, just being a role model for them. Obviously, that’s just my family.”
“I’ve also got a lot of Bangladeshi fans on Instagram. They are always commenting on my posts, asking me to play for Bangladesh - I love to see it and I try to like them all. Their support has been a big factor in [learning more]. Just to know that I have all that support and I haven’t even been there is really special.”
When I spoke to USA midfielder, Kellyn Acosta recently and mentioned Quinn’s situation, he had some sage words.
“It’s all it takes - give people hope. Everyone thinks that they might need to play cricket, but then if they see a player like Quinn Sullivan, they might think, ‘He’s a soccer player? In America? I wanna be like him.’ It’s all it takes. That one person.” Kellyn Acosta, LAFC and USA
It’s very possible that Quinn Sullivan is the first of many grandkids from that wave of immigration in the mid-to-late 20th Century to start making their way into pro sports.
As well as Cavan Sullivan, there are two other Bangladeshi-heritage academy players in the MLS pipeline: Nehan Hassan, also of Philadelphia Union, and Ayaan Ali of DC United.
I’ll be watching out for them in MLS and if they continue to develop, they’d better brace their social media channels for some new fans from the homeland.
As for Quinn Sullivan’s future? His career has barely started but as a keen student of the sport, he states his boilerplate desires to “get minutes, score goals, affect the game, and help the team win.”
His more personal target is to make enough of a name for himself in the MLS to move to Europe and eventually play in the Premier League.
With the FIFA World Cup hosted in the USA in 2026, could there even be a member of the USMNT squad with Bangladeshi heritage? It’s possible - and we will dare to dream - but really it’s just nice to feel included.
Leave a comment below if Quinn or I spoke about something that resonated with you, or if you know how I can watch Blockade (online or on DVD).
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FYI, his younger brother Cavan is shaping up to be a prodigy that will go to the biggest teams.
Rooting for him...hopefully gets more minutes this year and takes it to the next level