?? Patson Daka, Red Bull Salzburg (24)
?? Papiss Cisse, Alayanspor (22)
?? P.E Aubameyang, Arsenal (22)
?? Mohamed Salah, Liverpool (19)
?? Dieumerci Mbokani, Royal Antwerp (18)
?? Sadio Mané, Liverpool (18)
?? Oussama Idrissi, AZ Alkmaar (13)
?? Demba Ba, Istanbul Baseekir (13)
?? M. Yatabaré, Sivarspor (13)
?? Fabio Abreu – Moriense (13)
?? Victor Osimhen – Lille (13)
Eleven African players giving European clubs a total of 188 goals is a great achievement to emphasize that black players matter in the contribution of European football. Unfortunately, my Ghanaian players did not make the grade in terms of top scorers but Jordan Ayew’s exceptional performance at Crystal Palace made him the club’s player of the season.
Lack of infrastructure and proper scientific training methods back home have not deterred the few African players who got the opportunity to play on the shores of Europe from making their contributions in the Top European leagues since and this 2019/2020 season has not been an exception though Covid-19 pandemic evaded the world and football. Most players from the Africa communities started their football careers from either the streets, the bushes or footpaths in their localities or school sports.
This article makes a dual attempt to let you know that despite the hardship African players go through in becoming well-baked players their contribution to world football is still prominent and for that matter African players’ lives matter. Also, how football players’ labour market is structured as well as the status held by players recruited from Africa.
The recent findings make it not too astonishing to note that the first African footballer who visited stadia in Europe was Egyptian Hussein Hegazi. He played for Fulham with a debut on November 11, 1911, and scored his first goal against the Stock Port County.
Although Brazil has always been a top team producing world-class players like Pele, Dunga, Romario, Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho, Neymar, and others in the 20th century. The contribution from the few African players who ply their trade in European cannot be written off entirely.
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According to German website, Transfermarkt, over 42 African players are contracted to English Premier League clubs with Nigeria and Senegal leading the pack and the dominant growth of most of these players has made their clubs and fans jittery each time they, for one reason or the another, are not able to show up on the field.
The notable ones among these popular stars are Salah, Mane, Alex Iwobi, Naby Keita, Wilfred Zaha, Wilfred Ndidi, Victor Wanyama and Kelechi Iheanacho among others. There are others, who are also obscurely pushing their clubs to success in the most competitive league across the world.
Six of these players are from Senegal including, Mané (Liverpool), Idrissa Gueye (Everton), Cheikhou Kouyaté (Crystal Palace), Oumar Niasse (Cardiff City), Mohamed Diamé (Newcastle United) and Pape Souaré (Crystal Palace).
Nigeria has more players in the English Premiership than any other country, but sadly only five of them, Wilfred Ndidi (Leicester City), Alex Iwobi (Arsenal), Kelechi Iheanacho (Leicester City), Isaac Success (Watford) and Leon Balogun (Brighton) represent in the senior national team.
The Ivoirians in the EPL are Wilfred Zaha (Crystal Palace), Jean Michaël Seri (Fulham), Eric Bailly (Manchester United), Serge Aurier (Tottenham Hotspur) and Sol Bamba (Cardiff City).
Ghana’s four players in the EPL are Jeffrey Schlupp (Crystal Palace), Jordan Ayew (Crystal Palace), Daniel Amartey (Leicester City) and Christian Atsu (Newcastle).
The DR Congo has three players, Mali (two), Guinea (two), Algeria two, including Mahrez, who was the best player in the EPL in the 2016/2017 season, while Benin has one.
Morocco and Togo have one each, while Kenya has two, including Victor Wanyama and Divock Okoth Origi, who will square off for Tottenham and Liverpool in the UEFA Champions League final respectively.
According to a recent survey, the number of African players playing for teams in Europe has gone up since the days when Jean Amadou Tigana and John Chiedozie who were the only recognizable presence in the French and English leagues.
While Tigana played for the French team, which won the bronze medals in the 1982 and 1986 FIFA World Cups, John Chiedozie represented Nigeria up till 1985. Now apart from playing for European clubs, players of African descent dominate the major world football powers. Eromo Egbejule, who is an author for OZY.com, said the reason for the recent rise in the number of African players in European teams is “these players represent a cadre of potential stars trained with the world’s best coaching and facilities and groomed in intensely competitive European leagues.”
Riyad Mahrez became the first African player in the English Premier League history to win the PFA Player of the Year award in 2016, while Mohamed Salah’s success in 2018 made it twice in three years a player from the continent had been crowned as the division’s finest player.
Manchester City won the English Premier League and they have many African-born stars to extend courtesies to for their success.
Among these players are their captain, Vincent Kompany, a Belgian international of Congolese parentage, Leroy Sane, whose father was former Senegalese international, Raheem Sterling, the speedster, who plays for England also qualifies to play for Jamaica because that is his root, and of course, Mahrez who captains the Algeria National Team.
Chelsea’s third position in the league owes as much to the efforts of their Belgian talisman, Eden Hazard, as to the guile of Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Ross Barkley, a midfielder, who also qualifies to play for Nigeria because of his parents.
Tottenham contesting for the UEFA Champions League trophy that season against Liverpool owing mainly to the heroics of Moussa Sissoko, who hauled them from an imminent defeat at home to a sweet victory against Ajax Amsterdam in the semi-finals.
In Tottenham’s ranks are also Victor Wanyama of Kenya, Dele Alli, who were born in Lagos to a Nigerian father, the ‘black mamba’ Lucas Moura of Brazilian- Salvadoran heritage and of course, defender, Davinson Sanchez.
Arsenal, who also contest the UEFA Europa League final against Chelsea, have perhaps the highest number of African players in their ranks.
Apart from first-teamers like Alex Iwobi, Alexandre Lacazette, Maitland-Niles, Eddie Nketia, Elneni and Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang, Arsenal had more than 17 players of African descent in their rank from the U-15 cadre to the U-23 team.
Perhaps, the African dominance is more pronounced in the French Ligue 1 than in other competitions because the ratio of blacks to whites is almost 50-50.
Kylian Mbappe was then the current most influential player in the French league has a Camerounian heritage. His parents migrated to France when he was a kid. Today, Mbappe is one of the most important players in the French national team and also for his club, Paris St. Germain. The migrations of African football players to Europe, Dr Raffaele Poli of the Sport Science Institute, University of Lausanne International Center for Sports Studies, University of Neuchâtel states posited that in “October 1, 2009, 571 players imported from Africa were employed by 528 clubs of 36 top division leagues of UEFA member countries (1.08 per club).
“They were present in 33 out of the 36 leagues (no presence only in the three Baltic countries). They are over-represented in France (3.4 players per club) and Belgium (3.3).”
Since that study was published, African players’ presence have been felt even in the Balkan states and such obscure leagues as Afghanistan and Cambodia. Recently, China became a mecca for these fortune seekers.
One phenomenon in all of these leagues is that African players almost always play prominent roles in successful teams.
Explaining the recent exploits of African players in world football, Dr Sadiq Abdullahi, a retired professional tennis star, who represented Nigeria at the 1988 Seoul Olympics Games, said: “There is absolutely nothing ordinary in the genes or DNAs of the Africans in European Football Leagues.
“There may be a physical advantage for those players from West African shores because of how they are built. They seem to be physically stronger than their European counterparts. This is deeper than genes and DNAs.
“There are several factors that contribute to this seeming dominance. They are classified in two categories: Nature (Biological) and Nurture (Environmental).
“The first category is the area of psychology of the African footballer going abroad to play. They are highly motivated and prepared to take advantage of all the opportunities that come their way. They overcome all adversities and guided by agents appropriately.
“The second category is environmental. This is a big factor. This is also cultural. These African footballers may have received a weak training but they are highly gifted and talented. The successful clubs in Europe, France and Germany are aware of this and are willing to pay for productivity and outcome.”
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Dr Abdullahi is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning at Florida International University (FIU) and recently became a visiting professor at the Federal University Kashere, Gombe State authored “When African footballers produce on the field, their value and TV rating increase. They become marketable and accessible to fans and national football federations. They strive to meet expectations and fulfil contractual agreements. They receive first-class coaching and training as well as good advice from outside.
“They also receive a well-crafted insurance and welfare package that guarantees and safeguards their careers for a short time. As a result, they have a feeling of superiority and domination. They also know there is the fatherland to return to if they so wish.”
He believes the superior facilities “in these countries appear favourable to the African footballers and they enhance their performance and dominance.”
Sports marketer/lawyer, Sabinus Ikewuaku believes the African sportsman is naturally more gifted than his European counterpart and always excel given conducive environments.
To him, most African footballers know that success in their careers amounts to economic salvation and therefore they strive even more than their foreign counterparts to excel.
“Every gifted African footballer wants to play in Europe and so they work hard to achieve that ambition.
“Television has also made it possible for the youth of African to watch great football games and learn fresh skills that serve them well. So, it is no surprise they work so hard to excel.
“When an African boy plays football, he is not playing only for himself, but he represents the dreams of so many relations back home. That is why they work so hard to succeed.”
Professor Ken Anugweje of the University of Port Harcourt attributes the recent dominance of African players in European leagues to a combination of factors, adding, genetics ranks high among these factors.
He said: “Certain abilities make a successful footballer and these are strength, speed, endurance, agility and skills. Except for skills, the rest are inherited.
“Blacks are endowed with these abilities in the right proportions required for certain positions in football. They don’t fare too well in goalkeeping. These traits are almost important in the 100m, 200m and 400m races.”
According to Prof. Anugweje, a sports medicine expert, who is the director of sports at the University of Port Harcourt, “another factor is motivation. Football is a sport for the working class. Most black footballers belong to this class. For them, it is an escape from poverty and under privilege.
“You may have observed that a large majority of them are of Francophone descent. The French colonization policies make migration easier for them. Most of these footballers are children of immigrants. For those who were born in Africa, France is usually their first destination. Their careers start there.”
He acknowledges that the most important factor in success in football is skills, saying, “children in Europe have an early start in football education and learn basic skills earlier than those in Africa.
“Players of African descent from English-speaking countries who are lucky to have early starts are as good as those born in Europe.”
He added that footballers based in Africa are not as successful as their Europe-based counterparts because of circumstances beyond their control.