If you were sat in the hot seat of the Who Wants To Be A Millionaire game show and were presented with the question “Which country gave us the most Africa Cup of Nations players?”, what would you say? Would you be confused if there were a few European countries among the answers on offer? Would you guess France?As you’d expect, most participating nations in this final tournament have got around 20 players born there. Egypt and Ethiopia have 28 players born there, Malawi, Ghana, Gambia and Burkina Faso all have 23. Senegal have 21 – as many as Spain. Mauritania have got 15 players – one less than the United Kingdom.##EDITORS_CHOICE##Thirty-one AFCON 2021 players were born in Ivory Coast, 15 in Gabon. And 114 in France. Wait, what?The French call them “bi-nationaux” – players born to African parents who have the advantage of having come through the European development system where the coaching, facilities and opportunities give them a distinct advantage over their counterparts growing up in Africa.Monday, 22.00: (1.17) Cameroon (7.50) Comores (25.0)Of the participating countries, fewest players were born in Comoros – only two. And there are representatives from some unlikely non-African countries too. Canada, Denmark, Ireland, Italy and Romania have all given us one player each.It may not be the World Cup, but it is a “world tournament”. It’s just one of the many reasons we love the AFCON.Tres bien, France!
