Life begins at 40? Africa's legendary veteran footballers

Born on 1 September 1984, Kei Kamara played at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations for Sierra Leone and is still representing his nation having turned 40

This month Kei Kamara joined an elite list of Africans who have played international football after their 40th birthday.

The forward, who is second on the all-time list of goalscorers for both Sierra Leone and US Major League Soccer (MLS), came out of retirement in an unsuccessful bid to help his county qualify for next year’s Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) in Morocco.

It means Kamara will not grace the African game's biggest stage as a 41-year-old veteran, but other continental legends have managed to make an impression after entering their fifth decade - including the man who inspired Kamara's comeback.

BBC Sport Africa takes a look at some of the standout examples.

Roger Milla (Cameroon)

Born on 20 May 1952, Roger Milla remains the oldest player to score at a World Cup after his strike against Russia at USA '94

The best-known of African football’s elder statesmen, Milla’s exploits at the Fifa World Cup made headlines around the world, not least for his iconic corner-flag wiggle celebrations.

The striker was a veritable spring chicken aged 38 when he came out of retirement - at the request of Cameroon's President Paul Biya – for the 1990 tournament in Italy.

He scored two goals as a substitute against Romania as Cameroon won their group before another double in the second round against Colombia saw the Indomitable Lions become the first African side to reach a World Cup quarter-final, where they lost to England.

The two-time Afcon winner then went into international hibernation again before repeating his trick at the 1994 World Cup in the USA.

Having played in three warm-up matches and made an appearance off the bench against Brazil, he became the tournament’s oldest ever player and goalscorer when he netted in the 6-1 defeat by Russia aged 42 years and 39 days.

Milla remains the oldest outfield player to appear at a World Cup, but another African now holds the overall record.

Essam El-Hadary (Egypt)

Born on 15 January 1973, Essam El-Hadary was named best goalkeeper at the 2010 Nations Cup as he won his fourth African title with Egypt

The World Cup’s ultimate veteran, Essam El-Hadary was a sprightly 45 years and 161 days when he started for the Pharaohs at Russia 2018.

The final group match against Saudi Arabia was actually his tournament debut, and he became the first African goalkeeper to save a penalty at a World Cup but could not stop his side going down to a 2-1 defeat.

Having made his debut as a 23-year-old in March 1996, El-Hadary played 159 times for Egypt, winning 20 caps beyond his 40th birthday.

Amazingly, that impressive tally only puts him third on his country’s all-time caps list.

El-Hadary also represented the North Africans at seven Afcons, lifting the trophy in 1998, 2006, 2008 and 2010.

Kalusha Bwalya (Zambia)

Born on 16 August 1963, Kalusha Bwalya was president of the Football Association of Zambia when the team won the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations

Some might claim that the 1988 African Footballer of the Year had an unfair advantage when making his international comeback aged 40 in July 2004 – seeing as he picked himself.

After initially retiring in 2000, Bwalya had taken on the role of coach in 2003, hoping to guide the Copper Bullets to the 2006 World Cup.

He returned to action in a Council of Southern African Football Associations (Cosafa) Cup quarter-final against Mauritius, coming off the bench to score in a 3-1 win, but his real impact occurred in a World Cup qualifier against Liberia two months later.

With the game goalless, Bwalya, by then 41, subbed himself on in the 68th minute and tucked away a trademark free-kick in injury time to secure a 1-0 victory.

However, that was as good as it got. Not only did Zambia miss out on World Cup qualification but Bwalya ruined his last ever international appearance by missing the crucial penalty as they lost the Cosafa Cup final to Angola in a shootout.

Bruce Grobbelaar (Zimbabwe)

Born on 6 October 1957, Bruce Grobbelaar played in a 1-0 victory over Cameroon in Harare that took Zimbabwe to the brink of qualification for the 1994 World Cup, only for the Warriors to fall at the final hurdle in the return fixture

Like Bwalya, goalkeeper Grobbelaar had spells as both player and coach during a stop-start career with his country.

Born in South Africa, his family moved to what was then Rhodesia when he was a child.

In 1975 he was conscripted into the army to fight a guerilla insurgency in the country’s Bush War, and won one cap for Rhodesia in a friendly against the country of his birth in 1977.

Once the war was over, the Liverpool legend represented the renamed nation of Zimbabwe in qualifiers for the 1982 and 1986 World Cups before taking a long break from international football.

He returned in 1992 and came within a whisker of helping Zimbabwe reach the 1994 World Cup, losing a winner-takes-all qualifier to Cameroon.

After several spells as caretaker coach, he was 41 when he played his final game for Zimbabwe in 1998, but he still had the energy to turn out once for the unaffiliated Matabeleland football association a decade later.

George Weah (Liberia)

And finally… the only African to win the Ballon d’Or turned out for Liberia at the ripe old age of 51 - making him the oldest international player on record.

That was in September 2018, just a few months after Weah had scored success off the pitch by winning election to become his nation’s President.

He played 79 minutes as Liberia lost 2-1 to Nigeria in a Fifa-sanctioned friendly organised to retire his famous number 14 shirt.

The teams might not have been at full strength, but the former Monaco, Paris St-Germain and AC Milan striker still found himself up against the likes of Wilfred Ndidi and Kelechi Iheanacho.

After initially retiring from international duty in 2002, the game was Weah’s second comeback, having also played in a friendly against Indonesia in 2007 at the age of 40.

Having lost his bid for re-election at the start of this year, is it too late for the 58-year-old to make another return?