AFCON 2025: African teams boost their chances with European-born players

Nearly 30 percent of the players who took part in this year’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco were born outside the continent, reflecting the growing dependence that many African countries have on players from the diaspora in Europe.

Tiny Comoros, which kicks off the tournament against Morocco in Rabat on Sunday, has all but one member of the 26-man squad born in Europe, while the home country is one of five countries where the majority of the squad was born outside the continent.

Algeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Equatorial Guinea are the others that rely heavily on players born in Europe and raised in migrant families. Half of the Senegalese selection was also born in Europe.

In total, 191 of the 664 players in the 24 teams at the tournament were born in Europe, which amounts to 28.8 percent.

Morocco has players born in Belgium, France, the Netherlands and Spain, indicating diverse communities across Europe, while Algeria’s 16 foreign-born players are mainly from France, but they also have a player born in Belgium as well as Germany and the Netherlands.

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Both countries have a strong scouting system across Europe, actively looking for players to add to their senior and junior squads.

The 28-man squad of Equatorial Guinea consists of 19 players who were all born in the former colonial power Spain.

The small Central African country’s football prospects have improved dramatically since it began looking for players with a connection to the country in Spain. This is the fifth appearance in the Cup of Nations final in the past eight editions.

Competing in their second tournament, the Comoros are diving heavily into the large community in Marseille, while the Congolese have filled the vast majority of their roster with players from their migrant population in Belgium and France.

Africa benefited from the rule change

Players born in Britain, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Switzerland and Sweden are also taking part in the tournament, while Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou was born in Canada and Sudanese striker Amar Taifour in the US.

African countries benefited from a change in FIFA rules on international eligibility about 20 years ago, which allowed players who had represented a country at junior level to switch allegiances if they had dual citizenship.

A later change to the eligibility rules allowed players with senior caps to be turned into non-competitive internationals, such as Wilfried Zaha, who won two caps for England but is competing for Ivory Coast at the Cup of Nations in Morocco.

Botswana, Egypt and South Africa are the only countries where the players at the tournament are all from their own country.

Published on December 21, 2025