Diversity of TotalEnergies AFCON squads - French Ligue 1 and ...

Excitement is buzzing around the continent as the biggest gathering of African football’s powerhouses takes place at the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Côte d'Ivoire 2023.

Players plying their trade across the top leagues in Europe, Africa and Asia will fight for national pride and bragging rights.

In this article by CAFOnline, we look at the diversity of the squads for the 24 qualified countries.

A total of 628 players will be representing the 24 qualified countries in the TotalEnergies CAF AFCON.

The French Ligue 1 dominates with a total of 61 players playing in the topflight. Key amongst them include PSG defender, Achraf Hakimi and Ghana captain, Andre Ayew, who plays for Le Havre.

Led by Mohammed Salah, thirty-one players are joining from the Premier League and could have been more if not for injuries to Thomas Partey and Wilfred Ndidi among others.

Clubs in the Saudi Pro League have made the list due to the recent exodus of some of the continent’s top talents from Europe to Saudi Arabia. There are twenty-five including the likes of Sadio Mane, Riyad Mahrez and Kalidou Koulibally.

Spain and Germany are also well represented at the TotalEnergies CAF AFCON. The La Liga has 22 while the Bundesliga has 17.

Reigning Africa footballer of the year, Victor Osimhen lead a tall list of Italian Serie A players to the tournament.  A little over 15 players from Italy’s topflight are in Côte d'Ivoire for the TotalEnergies CAF AFCON.

In Africa’s domestic leagues, the TotalEnergies CAF AFCON has found a treasure trove of talents. Mamelodi Sundowns, Al Ahly and Orlando Pirates dominate the list. The three clubs combined contributed 30 players, thanks to the qualification of South Africa and Egypt.

Simba SC, Young Africans, FC  Nouadhibou and Angola’s, Atlético Petróleos de Luanda also have a share of the overall talent representation at the TotalEnergies CAF AFCON.