Africa's Growing Premier League Influence

Grobbelaar, Drogba, Essien, Lauren, Toure, Salah. Just a small selection of the many brilliant players from Africa that have graced the Premier League since its inception in the 1992/93 season. Africa's influence in the top flight of English football is undeniable, but it is something which has taken time to establish and grow.

As this infographic shows, Africa contributed just 0.9 percent of all players in the opening Premier League season. Since then though, this figure has steadily grown (with natural fluctuations). In the 2000/01 season, 3.7 percent of all Premier League professionals were from African countries - Kanu and Shola Ameobi just two famous examples.

In 2018/19, the three joint-top scorers in the league, each with 22 goals, were Salah, Mané and Aubameyang - from Egypt, Senegal and Gabon, respectively. In the current season, 7.0 percent of all players are from Africa, with the aforementioned Salah considered by many to be the best attacking player in the world right now.