I was a future England star and switched international allegiances – now I’m scoring goals for Burundi and loving it
FORMER England U21 striker Saido Berahino switched international allegiances to Burundi back in 2018.
And on Tuesday the 29-year-old was on the scoresheet in a 2-2 friendly draw against Indonesia.
Saido Berahino played for England from U16 to U21 levelGetty Images – Getty
GettyHe switched his international allegiance to Burundi, the country of his birth, in 2018[/caption]
Now at Cypriot side AEL Limassol, Berahino scored 24 goals in 47 games across various England age groups from U16 to U21 level.
After switching allegiances to Burundi, the country of his birth, Berahino scored on his debut against Gabon in September 2018.
He even captained his country at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.
Berahino fled war-torn Burundi as a 10-year-old but was given Fifa clearance to switch allegiances in 2018.
Speaking exclusively to SunSport that year, Berahino opened up on the work he was doing in the East African nation after choosing to switch international allegiances.
He said: “I’d always wanted to help my country and I made a massive step by going back to play for them.
“I’ve always tried to do things back home because the Burundi people are my people — I came here to England and I got lucky.
“God gave me a better life and now I am in a situation where I can help a lot of people and that’s what I’m trying to do.
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“Me and my mum always tried to do something — she has been travelling twice, three times a year to Burundi to help the unfortunate ones that will never get the opportunity I got.”
Berahino added that switching allegiances means he is able to visit the country himself when he is called up for Burundi duty.
He continued: “Now I go back myself because I am playing for my country. Every time I do, there is a lot of work with homeless kids, I provide them with food.
“There are patients in hospitals that never pay for their bills and because of that they are kept there as prisoners.
“They are kept there until they can find a way of somehow getting the money.”
Berahino, who played for the likes of West Brom, Stoke and Sheffield Wednesday, has scored two goals in 18 senior caps for his country.
He joined Stoke from West Brom in an initial £12million deal in January 2017 during the midst of a 913-day goal drought.
The striker left Sheffield Wednesday last September to join Cypriot side AEL Limassol, the ninth club of his career, where he has scored four goals in 27 games.
