African teams strengthening their chances with Europe-born players

RABAT, Dec ‌21 : Almost 30 per cent of the players competing at this year’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco were born outside the continent, reflecting the growing reliance many African countries have on players from the diaspora in Europe.

Tiny Comoros, who kick off the tournament against Morocco in Rabat on Sunday, have all but one of their 26-man squad born in Europe while the home nation are one of five countries with the majority of their squad born outside the continent.

Algeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo ‌and Equatorial Guinea are the others with a heavy reliance on players ‌born and raised in Europe to migrant families. Half of the Senegal squad, too, were born in Europe.

In total, of the 664 players across the 24 teams at the tournament, 191 were born in Europe, representing 28.8 per cent.

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

Both countries have a strong scouting system across Europe, actively seeking players to add to their senior side plus their junior teams.

Equatorial Guinea's 28-man squad have 19 players all born in the former colonial power Spain. 

The footballing fortunes of the small central African nation have improved drastically since they began to look for players in Spain with ​a connection to the country. This is their ‌fifth Cup of Nations finals appearance in the last eight editions.

Comoros are competing in their second tournament, dipping heavily into the large community based in Marseille, while the Congolese have filled the vast ​majority of their squad with