African players in the Premier League
- Published
Peter Ndlovu was the first.
Now 246 African players have played in the Premier League since it began in 1992, scoring 1,776 goals in 14,210 appearances.
Chelsea legend Didier Drogba has scored the most goals (104), Kolo Toure has made the most appearances (349) while Nigeria (35) has contributed the most players.
As the Premier League live fan park comes to Cape Town this weekend, external learn all you need to know about African players in the English top flight.
Number of African players per club
Arsenal - 15 players, 1,034 appearances, 123 goals
Aston Villa - 12 players, 242 appearances, 17 goals
Barnsley - 1 player, 25 appearances, 2 goals
Birmingham - 8 players, 169 appearances, 0 goals
Blackburn - 9 players, 534 appearances, 87 goals
Blackpool: 1 player, 20 appearances, 0 goals
Bolton: 12 players, 476 appearances, 49 goals
Bournemouth: 2 players, 11 appearances, 1 goal
Burnley: 1 player, 28 appearances, 1 goal
Cardiff: 2 players, 18 appearances, 1 goal
Charlton: 9 players, 384 appearances, 35 goals
Chelsea: 13 players, 1,136 appearances, 191 goals
Coventry: 4 players, 287 appearances, 48 goals
Crystal Palace: 9 players, 245 appearances, 18 goals
Derby: 3 players, 34 appearances, 0 goals
Everton: 13 players, 806 appearances, 95 goals
Fulham: 17 players, 438 appearances, 26 goals
Hull: 14 players, 327 appearances, 28 goals
Ipswich: 2 players, 28 appearances, 6 goals
Leeds: 4 players, 287 appearances, 29 goals
Leicester: 5 players, 173 appearances, 34 goals
Liverpool: 11 players, 418 appearances, 16 goals
Man City: 14 players, 499 appearances, 102 goals
Man Utd: 4 players, 102 appearances, 6 goals
Middlesbrough: 5 players, 241 appearances, 54 goals
Newcastle: 20 players, 1,035 appearances, 146 goals
Norwich: 8 players, 205 appearances, 25 goals
Portsmouth: 24 players, 800 appearances, 117 goals
QPR: 7 players, 209 appearances, 9 goals
Reading: 6 players, 132 appearances, 10 goals
Sheffield United: 2 players, 6 appearances, 0 goals
Sheffield Weds: 1 player, 2 appearances
Southampton: 9 players, 354 appearances, 36 goals
Stoke: 11 players, 364 appearances, 41 goals
Sunderland: 16 players, 316 appearances, 34 goals
Swansea: 3 players, 111 appearances, 34 goals
Tottenham: 16 players, 663 appearances, 74 goals
Watford: 8 players, 151 appearances, 21 goals
West Brom: 12 players, 562 games, 76 goals
West Ham: 22 players, 678 appearances, 78 goals
Wigan: 10 players, 388 appearances, 58 goals
Wimbledon: 1 player, 123 appearances, 37 goals
Wolves: 8 players, 148 appearances, 11 goals
Top 10 clubs with the most African players
Who they were, and where they came from.
Portsmouth: 24 players. Hassan Yebda, Nadir Belhadj (both Algeria), Lauren, Rodolphe M'Bela Douala, Valery Mezague, Franck Songo'o (all Cameroon), Lomanu LuaLua (DR Congo), Kevin-Prince Boateng, Sulley Muntar, Quincy (all Ghana), Aruna Dindane (Ivory Coast), Djimi Traore (Mali), Kanu, John Utaka, Yakubu (all Nigeria), Amdy Faye, Aliou Cisse, Salif Diao, Papa Bouba Diop, Diomansy Kamara, Armand Traore (all Senegal), Aaron Mokoena (South Africa), Collins Mbesuema (Zambia), Benjani (Zimbabwe)
West Ham: 22 players. Marc Vivien Foe, Alex Song, Rigobert Song (all Cameroon), Herita Ilunga (DR Congo), Mido (Egypt), John Pantsil (Ghana), Titi Camara, Kaba Diawara (both Guinea), Guy Demel (Ivory Coast), Frederick Kanoute, Modibo Maiga (both Mali), Marouane Chamakh, Manuel de Costa (both Morocco), Emmanuel Emenike, Victor Moses, Victor Obinna (all Nigeria), Demba Ba, Henri Camara, Mo Diame, Cheikhou Kouyate, Diafra Sakho (all Senegal), Benni McCarthy (South Africa)
Newcastle: 20 players. Mehdi Abeid (Algeria), Gael Bigirimana (Burundi), Sebastien Bassong, Geremi (both Cameroon), Lomana LuaLua, Kazenga LuaLua, Chancel Mbemba (all DR Congo), Seydou Doumbia, Cheick Tiote (both Ivory Coast), Celestine Babayaro, Obafemi Martins, Shola Ameobi (all Nigeria), Amdy Faye, Demba Ba, Habib Beye, Papiss Cisse, Lamine Diatta, Abdoulaye Faye, Henri Saivet (all Senegal), Matty Pattison (South Africa)
Fulham: 17 players. Hameur Bouazza, Rafik Halliche (both Algeria), Eyong Enoh, Pierre Wome (both Cameroon), Malik Buari, Derek Boateng, Emmanuel Frimpong, Elvis Hammond, John Pantsil (all Ghana), (Guinea-Bissau), Mahamadou Diarra (Mali), Abdeslam Ouaddou, Adel Taarabt (both Morocco), Dickson Etuhu (Nigeria), Papa Bouba Diop, Diomansy Kamara (both Senegal), Kagisho Dikgacoi (South Africa)
Tottenham: 16 players. Nabi Bentaleb, Moussa Saib (both Algeria), Benoit Assou-Ekoto, Thimotee Atouba, Sebastien Bassong, Clinton N'Jie (all Cameroon), Hossam Ghaly, Mido (both Egypt), Kevin-Prince Boateng (Ghana), Didier Zokora (Ivory Coast), Freddie Kanoute (Mali), Nourredine Naybet, Adel Taarabt (both Morocco), Mbulelo Mabizela, Steven Pienaar (both South Africa), Emmanuel Adebayor (Togo)
Arsenal: 15 players. Lauren, Alex Song (both Cameroon), Mohamed Elneny (Egypt), Emmanuel Frimpong, Quincy (both Ghana), Kaba Diawara (Guinea), Emmanuel Eboue, Gervinho, Kolo Toure (all Ivory Coast), Christopher Wreh (Liberia), Marouane Chamakh (Morocco), Kanu, Alex Iwobi (both Nigeria), Armand Traore (Senegal), Emmanuel Adebayor (Togo)
Hull: 14 players. Kamel Ghilas (Algeria), Manucho (Angola), Ahmed Elmohamady, Gedo, Amr Zaki (all Egypt), Daniel Cousin (Gabon), Kamil Zayatte (Guinea), Yannick Sagbo (Ivory Coast), Sone Aluko, Seyi Olofinjana (both Nigeria), Mo Diame, Abdoulaye Faye, Dame N'Doye, Ibrahima Sonko (all Senegal)
Man City: 14 players. Djamel Belmadi, Ail Benarbia (both Algeria), Marc Vivien Foe, Lucien Mettomo (both Cameroon), Wilfried Bony, Abdul Razak, Yaya Toure, Kolo Toure (all Ivory Coast), George Weah (Liberia), Kelvin Etuhu, Kelechi Iheanacho (both Nigeria), Emmanuel Adebayor (Togo), Hatem Trabelsi (Tunisia), Benjani (Zimbabwe)
Chelsea; 13 players. Bertrand Traore (Burkina Faso), Samuel Eto'o, Geremi (both Cameroon), Mo Salah (Egypt), Baba Rahman, Michael Essien (both Ghana), Didier Drogba, Salomon Kalou (both Ivory Coast), George Weah (Liberia), Celestine Babayaro, John Mikel Obi (both Nigeria), Demba Ba (Senegal)
Sunderland: 16 players. Stephane Sessegnon, (Benin), Patrick Mboma (Cameroon), Cabral (Cape Verde), Ahmed Elmohamady (Egypt), Asamoah Gyan, John Mensah, Sulley Muntari (all Ghana), Lamine Kone (Ivory Coast), Talal El Karkouri (Morocco), Dickson Etuhu (Nigeria), El Hadji Diouf, Kader Mangane, Alfred N'Diaye, Dame N'Doye (all Senegal), Wahbi Khazri (Tunisia), Benjani (Zimbabwe)
Worth their weight in goals
There have been 23,620 goals (excluding own goals) in the Premier League, 1,776 by African players.
21% of the total players who have played in the Premier League have been from Africa - they have scored 13% of the goals.
African players per season
PL Season | African Players |
---|---|
Season 1992/1993 | 3 |
Season 1993/1994 | 4 |
Season 1994/1995 | 10 |
Season 1995/1996 | 8 |
Season 1996/1997 | 5 |
Season 1997/1998 | 8 |
Season 1998/1999 | 12 |
Season 1999/2000 | 13 |
Season 2000/2001 | 23 |
Season 2001/2002 | 20 |
Season 2002/2003 | 33 |
Season 2003/2004 | 32 |
Season 2004/2005 | 42 |
Season 2005/2006 | 43 |
Season 2006/2007 | 56 |
Season 2007/2008 | 59 |
Season 2008/2009 | 57 |
Season 2009/2010 | 56 |
Season 2010/2011 | 56 |
Season 2011/2012 | 43 |
Season 2012/2013 | 42 |
Season 2013/2014 | 47 |
Season 2014/2015 | 45 |
Season 2015/2016 | 57 |
- Published18 March 2016