Teams strengthening their chances with Europe-born players
Comoros players line up during the national anthems before playing Morocco in Group ‘A’ match of 2025 Africa Cup of Nations tournament at Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, Rabat, Morocco on December 21, 2025. All but one of Comoros’ 26-man squad was born in Europe.
What you need to know:
- Morocco’s goalkeeper Yassine Bounou was born in Canada.
Botswana, Egypt and South Africa are the only countries whose players at the tournament are all home-born.
Rabat,
Almost 30 percent 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 kicked 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 percent. 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 players from their migrant population in Belgium and France.
Benefitted from rule change
Players born in Britain, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Switzerland and Sweden are also competing at the tournament, while Morocco’s goalkeeper Yassine Bounou was born in Canada and the Sudan striker Amar Taifour in the U.S.
African countries have benefitted from a change in the FIFA rules on international eligibility some 20 years ago that allowed players who had represented one country at junior level to switch allegiance if they had dual nationality.
A later change to the eligibility rules allowed players with senior caps in non-competitive internationals to change, like Wilfried Zaha, who won two caps for England but is competing for the Ivory Coast at the Cup of Nations in Morocco.
Botswana, Egypt and South Africa are the only countries whose players at the tournament are all home-born.
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