Arthur Wharton

Arthur was born in Jamestown in the former British Colony of the Gold Coast, now Ghana. After his early education in the Gold Coast, he came to England in 1875 and attended Dr. Cheyne’s Burlington Road School, London for 4 years. Returning to his Mothers home town of Cape Coast, Ghana, for 2 years, he travelled back to England, with his Uncle in 1882, and continued his education at Shoal Hill College in Cannock, then at Cleveland College in Darlington from 1884 to 1887.

In addition to playing football, Arthur was an excellent all round athlete. In 1886, he became an amateur national sprint champion. He was the first sprinter to run the 100 yards in 10 seconds, and set a world record. Arthur Wharton passed away in 1930 and is buried at Edlington, in England.

Wilfred Waller

Wilfred Waller was born in South Africa on 27th July, 1877. Waller was spotted while on tour in England with his South African club side. He made his debut for Tottenham Hotspur, then playing in the Southern League, against Brighton on 21st January 1899. Later that year, having moved to Richmond Association, he was selected for the English Football Association XI for their tour to Germany and Austria. Winning all four of their matches by wide margins, he was one of six amateur players in the fourteen-man squad.

Following this success, Waller was snapped up by Bolton Wanderers in the Professional League, becoming their first foreign player in 1900, however, he made only six league appearances for Bolton. Waller also played outside the league for Southampton, Corinthians and Watford. After playing in England, Waller returned to South Africa where he continued to play football with some of the top South African teams.

Alex Bell

Alex Bell was born in 1882 in Cape Town, South Africa to Scottish parents. After playing in the Scottish league, he moved to play for some of the top teams in England.

Alex was signed by Manchester United for £700 in 1903, and went on to play 278 league games with them. He was instrumental in getting Manchester United promoted to the first division in 1906 and winning their League Championship in 1908. Due to his Scottish ancestry, Alex played for Scotland once, in their 4-1 win over Northern Ireland in 1912. After his playing career, he joined the coaching staff at Coventry City and then Manchester City. Alex is also the first South African to play in the English FA Cup final. Alex died at the age of 52 in 1934.

Hassan Hegazi

Hassan was born in September of 1891 in Kremlah, a suburb of Cairo in Egypt. Hassan came to Britain to pursue his education after attending Saidiq Secondary School, Egypt. While in England he studied Engineering at London University and spent two terms at St. Catherine’s College, Cambridge University studying History and Arabic.

Hassan was the first Egyptian to play in the English Football League, for Fulham in November 1911, memorably he scored in his debut game against Stockport County. He also played for Egypt in the 1920, 1924 and 1928 Olympic Games. Apart from being a gifted footballer, Hassan was the Egyptian 440 yards and 880 yards national champion before coming to Britain. Hassan is remembered during his relatively short stay in England for his technical, dribbling and goal scoring prowess.

Tewfik Abdallah

Tewfik was born in Cairo, Egypt on 23rd June 1897. Fondly called “Toothpick” or “Abe” by his fans, Tewfik was considered wealthy by the time he arrived in Britain to play football. Tewfik served in the Egyptian Army and had fought in World War I before starting his football career in Britain. After these relatively few years in Britain, he left for the US in 1924. Tewfik was the second Egyptian to play in the English League. He also played for Al Ahly and for the Egyptian National side in the 1920 Olympics Games in Belgium.

After moving to the US, he became frustrated with the unfair racially motivated treatment of non-white athletes. In 1928, he returned home to pursue a career in coaching. In addition to football, Tewfik was also interested in studying Engineering.

Mohammed Latif

Mohammed was born in Egypt on 23rd October 1909. He was among the pioneer African footballers to play in Britain. He joined Rangers FC in the Scottish Alliance League from 1935 to 1936. He played only two games for Rangers before returning to Egypt to play for Zamelek one of the top clubs in Egypt. Latif coached Zamelek after retiring from active soccer and became a respected football commentator on Egyptian television. After what can be described as a very successful career in Egypt, Latif died on 17th March 1990 at the age of 80.

Mohammed played for the Egyptian national side at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, Germany. While in Britain, Latif earned a diploma in Physical Education from Jordan Hill College.

Mustafa Mansour

Mansour was born in Egypt on 2nd August 1914. The “Flying Egyptian” as he was fondly called during his playing days, was a goalkeeper and played for Egypt during the 1934 FIFA World Cup and the 1936 Olympics Games in Berlin. Mansour was one of Africa’s first players to play in the Scottish League. Mansour did not want to play as a professional and therefore refused a £4000 payment to play professional football in Scotland. According to him, he chose Queens Park because it was an amateur side.

Mansour became a renowned international referee after retirement. His achievements after his playing career were also very impressive. He became the Secretary General of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and a minister in the Egyptian government. He died at the age of 87 on July 24, 2002.

Robert Priday

Robert signed for Liverpool in 1945 as a winger, when the National Leagues resumed after World War II. Playing his debut match on 5th January 1946, he went on to make 70 appearances for Liverpool and scored 7 goals. He also won the First Division Championship with Liverpool in 1947. Apart from Liverpool, he played for other South African and British teams. He transferred from Liverpool FC to Blackburn Rovers for a club record sale of £10,000 in March of 1949. After 44 games and 11 goals in three seasons with Blackburn, Robert left the league after only two years. His attempt for a comeback at Accrington Stanley was unsuccessful. After a five game trial with Rochdale he hung his boots and retired to South Africa, where he lived with his wife and six children.

Tesilimi Olawale Balogun

Teslim, as he was called was born in Nigeria in 1931. He played for a number of Nigerian clubs in the early 1940’s. In 1949 he was selected for the Nigerian team that toured Britain. Teslim returned to Britain in August 1955 to play for Peterborough United, who were then playing in the Midland League. Apart from playing football Teslim also wanted to learn a trade while in Britain and insisted on a work clause in his contract, so he could combine work, at a Printing company, while playing for Peterborough. Despite his striking prowess, Teslim never made it to the team’s first team. In the 1956/1957 season, he unceremoniously left Peterborough for Skegness Town. After a very brief stay he joined Queens Park Rangers who were then playing in Division III of the Football League.

Gerry Francis

Gerry Francis was born on 6th December, 1933 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Although described as black, Gerry Francis is of African and Asian heritage. Francis became a postman after retiring from football and later immigrated to Canada. Gerry was the second black South African to play in the English League. He also holds a couple of firsts, by being the first black South African to play in the First Division and the first black person to play for Leeds United. Gerry made his professional debut game with Leeds United on 10th October 1959 against Everton. Gerry Francis also laid the foundation for other black players at Leeds United. In fact, his personal recommendation led to the signing of Albert Johanneson who became an icon at the club during the 1970’s.

Stephen Mokone

Stephen Mokone was a qualified teacher before leaving South Africa and became a professor later on in life. Like most players before him and during his time, Mokone complained about the racial and cultural prejudices meted out to players of color in Britain. Despite these experiences, the legal equality he saw between blacks and whites in Europe increased his resolve to fight against the apartheid system at home. Mokone was the first black South African to be allowed to play outside South Africa. Stephen has been described one of the best soccer players ever to come from South Africa. After the abolishment of apartheid, he was named South Africa’s Goodwill Ambassador for Tourism in 1998. He has also established the Kalamazoo South African Foundation for Education through Sports.

Albert Johanneson

Albert is remembered as an exceptionally talented player and goal scorer who helped Leeds return to the first division in 1963, after their relegation in 1961 to Division II. Albert was a top goal scorer with records like 15 goals in 41 games during the 1963-64 seasons. His other achievements include being the first black African to play in an FA Cup Final.

Despite his success on the field, Albert experienced racism off the field. He had to deal with racist abuse with little support from his management or team mates. Most will argue that this in some way led to his eventual use of drink and smoking of Marijuana. Never returning to South Africa, Albert died in Headingly, Leeds from meningitis and heart failure in relative seclusion and poverty.

Adewunmi Olarewaju Coker

Ade Coker was born in Lagos, Nigeria on 19th May, 1954, and came to the UK at the age of 11. By 17 his skill as a player in school had caught the eyes of West Ham scouts, resulting in his recruitment to play for West Ham in the league from 1971 to 1975. In 1974, he was loaned to a US team; the Boston Minutemen. A year later he returned to England to play with Lincoln City on loan.

Until April 1st 1972, no team in the English League had featured 3 black players, playing at the same time for one team. Together with Clyde Best and Clive Charles, Ade Coker was part of this historical football event in a match between West Ham and Tottenham Hotspurs. Ade left for the US after only three years in the English League. He retired from active football in 1988. Ade made a total of 9 appearances for West Ham yet he is regarded as one of the best forwards to have played for the team.

Bruce David Grobbelaar

Bruce Grobbelaar was born on October 6, 1957 in Durban, South Africa but began his footballing career with the Highlanders, a football club in Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe. After stints with teams in South Africa and Canada, Bruce got his break into the English League when Crewe Alexandra, then in the 4th Division, loaned him from the Vancouver Whitecaps. West Bromwich Albion had tried to sign him up but could not, due to problems in securing a work permit. On 17th March 1981, Liverpool signed him as a reserve goalkeeper, with Bruce soon becoming the first choice keeper. Between 1981 and 1994, he was a regular on the Liverpool side, playing at least 627 games for the team. He won 6 league titles, 3 FA Cup titles, 3 Football League Cups and 1 European Cup. After leaving Liverpool, he played for Southampton and other league sides before retiring to South Africa. He has since coached teams in South Africa and Zimbabwe. Bruce is the first African to win a European Cup. He currently lives in retirement in Canada.

Anthony Yeboah

Born on 6th June 1966 in Kumasi, Ghana, Tony started his career with Kumasi Asante Kotoko, in Ghana. His transfer to Eintracht Frankfurt in 1990 started his ascent to becoming one of the world’s top strikers. In 1992 and 1993, he was joint top scorer in the German Bundesliga. In the process, he became the highest scoring African to ever play in the German league, a record only broken in 2011 by Papiss Demba Cisse. Tony joined the English League on loan to Leeds United in 1995. In the English League he is perhaps the only player to win the BBC Match of the Day, Goal of the Month award in two successive months- September and Ocotber of 1995. He also won the Goal of the Season 1995 with a goal against Wimbledon. Tony Yeboah still remains a cult figure at Leeds. He holds the honor of being the first non-British Leeds Fans’ Player of the Year. He made 66 appearances for Leeds United scoring a total of 32 goals. After Leeds he played in Germany and Qatar before retiring to his native Ghana.

Efangwe Gozien Ekoku

Efan, as he is popularly called, was born in Manchester to Nigerian parents on 8th June 1967. He started his football career with Sutton United a non-league side. In 1990 he started his professional career in the English League with Bournemouth, signing for Norwich City three years later, where he became a talented goal scorer, and holds the distinction of being the first player to score 4 goals in a single Premiership game. Efan played for other teams including Wimbledon and Sheffield Wednesday.

Although he never won any honors with the teams he played for in Britain, he was part of the Nigerian National Team that won the 1994 African Cup of Nations, and played in the 1994 FIFA World Cup competition. Efan is fondly remembered at Norwich City. In 2012, Norwich City honored his memory by inducting him to the Norwich City Hall of Fame. He currently works on TV as a match commentator and analyst.

Lucas Valeriu Radebe

Lucas was born in Diepkloof in Soweto, near Johannesburg, South Africa on 12 April 1969. In 1994 he joined the English Premiership side Leeds United, from the South African team Kaiser Chiefs. His transfer fee at the time was about £2.6 million. A central defender, Lucas is remembered at Leeds for being a tough and tenacious player in defence, as well as being an effective distributor of balls.

The "Chief", as he was affectionately called, became a successful captain of Leeds United from 1998 to 2000. From 1999 to 2000, he led Leeds to third and fourth place finishes in the Premier League. Despite several offers from top teams, Lucas remained loyal to Leeds United. Lucas retired from Leeds in 2005. His testimonial match attracted one of the largest assembling of stars ever to gather at Elland Road. Radebe captained the South African National team to the 1998 and 2002 FIFA World Cup Competitions. In 2000, Radebe was appointed as the FIFA Ambassador for SOS Children's Villages.

Kimberley Tyrone Grant

Kim Grant was born in the twin City of Sekondi-Takoradi in Ghana. He moved to England at a very young age, and in 1988, at the age of 16, he started his football career in the English League with the junior side of Charlton Athletic FC. He later joined the senior side and made a total of 123 appearances from 1991 to 1996, scoring 18 goals during that time. After leaving Charlton, Kim played in other English teams in different leagues such as Luton Town, Millwall FC, Notts County, Scunthorpe United and Yoevil Town. His career in England was interspersed with stints in Belgium playing for the Belgian Premiership side Lommel S.K, and Portugal for the second division side, Imortal Albufeira, F.C Marco, and the Far East. Kim played for Ghana seven times between 1996 and 1997. Kim currently works as an European Scout for West Bromwich Albion, as well as doing charitable work in Ghana. Kim is a direct descendant of Arthur Wharton, the first black professional footballer.

Peter Ndlovu

Peter Ndlovu was born on 25th February, 1973 in Makoboba in Bulawayo, Rhodesia, now the country of Zimbabwe. He is one of seven children. Peter spent his childhood in Zimbabwe and begun playing for Highlanders FC, a much respected club in Zimbabwe. In 1991 he made his debut to the English League with Coventry City. After six years with Coventry, he joined Birmingham City. He later played for Huddersfield Town and Sheffield United. After leaving the English League in 2004, Peter went to South Africa.

Peter retired from the English League after playing for 12 seasons and appeared in a total of about 338 games. He was a much loved striker in all the teams he played, scoring a total of over 90 goals. He is remembered by fans for some of his most memorable goals. Peter also earned over 100 caps playing for his native Zimbabwe, and remains its all-time leading scorer. Peter is the first black African to play in the English Premier League.

George Tawlon Manneh Oppong Ousman Weah

George was born in Clara Town in the slums of Monronvia, Liberia on October 1st 1966. He is arguably the best African player to have played in the Premiership. He won the FIFA World Player of the Year, European Player of the Year and African Player of the Year 3 times.

George did not play in the Premiership for a lengthy period, but his impact was immediately felt in Chelsea. In 11 games with Chelsea while on loan in 2000, he scored four goals. After Chelsea, George also played briefly for Manchester City before leaving for Olympic Marseille in France, and Al Jazira FC in the United Arab Emirates. George became a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in 1997. Since retiring from soccer in 2003, he has been involved in philanthropy concentrating on education issues in his native Liberia. He has also been very actively involved in his country’s political life after decades of civil war.

Michel Ngonge

Michel was born to Zairean parents on 10th January, 1967 in Huy Belgium. He started his football career in Belgium playing for at least four Belgian teams at the junior level. From 1995 to 1996 he signed for the Belgian team Harelbeks as a forward player, before moving to the Turkish side Samsunspor from 1996 to 1998. Michael joined the English side Watford in 1998, and helped them gain promotion into the Premiership for the first time that same year. He ended up being loaned to Huddersfield in 2000, then sold for a transfer fee of £50,000 to Queens Park Rangers, before joining Kilmarnock in Scotland.

Ngonge was capped three times for the national side of his native Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of Congo. In his retirement, he runs his own real estate company and is still involved with football through his football recruiting agency.

Henri Patrick M’Boma Dem

M’Boma was born in Duala, the capital of Cameroon on November 15th 1970. At the age of 2, his family immigrated to France where he grew up to play in the French League. M’Boma joined the Premiership side Sunderland for one year, making 9 appearances and scoring 1 goal for Sunderland.

Due to his short stay in the Premiership, his impact on the English game was minimal. It is without doubt however that he is one of the most prolific scorers to play in the Premiership. Noted for his powerful shots at goal he scored 33 goals for the Cameroonian National team in 57 appearances.

M’Boma played in two FIFA World Cups, 1998 and 2002 respectively. He also captained the Cameroonian National team to win the 2000 and 2002 African Nations Cup, and a Gold medal in the 2000 Olympics. In 2000 he was voted BBC African Footballer of the Year and Confederation of African Football (CAF), African Footballer of the Year.

Mustapha Hadji

Born on November 16, 1971 in Infrane, Souss-Massa-Draa, Morrocco, Mustapha’s family immigrated to France when he was very young. The talented striker and dribbler started his football career with Ligue 1 side AS Nancy. In 1999, he transferred to Coventry City in the Premiership where he blossomed into one of the league’s most deadly scoring midfielders. Hadji scored 12 goals in 62 appearances for Coventry. When Coventry were relegated, Hadji moved to the Premiership side Aston Villa. During almost three years at Aston Villa, he made only 35 appearances and scored 2 goals, due mostly to injuries. In 2004, Hadji left the Premiership to play with teams in Spain, the United Arab Emirates and Germany before retiring in 2010 with the Luxemburg side, Fola Esch.

He played in two FIFA World Cups 1994 and 1998 and was voted Confederation of African Football (CAF), African Footballer of the Year for 1998.

Efetobore Sodje

Sodje was born on October 5, 1972 in Greenwich, London to Nigerian parents originally from Warri, in the Delta State of Nigeria. The 6ft 4inches central defender started playing the league with Stevenage Borough from 1994. Since then he has played for several league teams. In 2008, he signed for Bury as a player/coach and continues to play for them.

Sodje has never played in the Premiership but his longevity as a player in the league indicates his quality as a player. Although British-born, he opted to play for Nigeria. He represented Nigeria in the 2000 African Cup of Nations and in the 2002 FIFA World Cup competition. In all, he was capped 9 times for Nigeria scoring once in a 2-1 win over the Republic of Ireland.

Sodje comes from a family of footballers. Three of his brothers played professionally at Huddersfield Town, and one played semi professionally. He is also popular for wearing the kufi headgear when playing.

Augustine Azuka Okocha

Jay Jay, as he is popularly called, was born in Enugu, Nigeria on August 14. He began his football career in Nigeria playing for the Enugu Rangers. Bolton Wanderers was the first stop for Jay Jay when he joined the Premier league in 2002. At Bolton, he endeared himself with cult-like status to the club’s fans. His amazingly nimble footwork and goals made him a joy to watch. He helped Bolton stay away from relegation, and captained them to their first ever Football League Cup final in 2004. In July of 2006, Okocha left for the Quatari side Quatar FC, only to return to the Premiership a year later to play for Hull City.

Okocha was voted BBC African Player of the Year for the years 2004 and 2005, he played in 3 FIFA World Cups; 1994, 1998 and 2002. He was also a Gold medalist in the 1996 Olympics Games in Atlanta.

Nwankwo Kanu

Kanu, who was born on Owerri, Nigeria on 1st August 1976, began his football career with the Nigerian League side Federation Works in the 1991/1992 league season at the age of 15. His amazing skill and goal scoring abilities gained him a call to join the Nigerian National U-17 side in 1993. He began playing in the Premiership with Arsenal in February of 1999, scoring 44 goals with Arsenal in about 197 appearances. He moved to West Bromwich Albion, in 2004, as a free transfer. After two seasons West Bromwich were relegated from the Premiership and Kanu chose not to renew his contract. As a free agent again, he signed for Portsmouth at the beginning of the 2006/07 season and stayed with the club until July 2012 when he left on the final year of his contract.

Kanu is among the rarity of players to have won the Premier League twice, 3 FA Cup titles, 1 UEFA Cup title, and an Olympic Gold medal. He has also won the Confederation of African Football (CAF), African Footballer of the Year award twice, and BBC African Player of the Year twice.

Mamady Sidibe

Mamady was born on December 18, 1979 in Kremis in the Kayes Region of Mali. When he was about 2 years old his parents immigrated to France. His early football career started at the junior level with French teams. He first played as a defender before making a switch to center forward.

In the 2001-2002 season, he joined the Welsh side Swansea City. He later played for Gillingham, from 2002 to 2005, and has been with Stoke City since 2005. Mamady has played in three out of the four leagues, a rarity among African players.

In October of 2007, disaster nearly struck Mamady when he was injured by a spectator rioting during an international match between Mali and Togo. Surprisingly, although he considered quitting the National team, he decided to press on. Since 2003, he has played 14 times for Mali without scoring a goal. This fighting spirit has kept Mamady still playing in spite of being plagued with several serious injuries.

Didier Yves Drogba Tébily

Drogba, who was born on 11th January 1978, spent his early years between France and Abidjan. Drogba’s rise to stardom is a result of patience and what he describes as football apprenticeship in the French Ligue 2. At age 19, Drogba turned professional and joined Le Mans in the Ligue 2. "Tito" as he was popularly called then, experienced some unlucky times at Le Mans due to injuries.

In 2004 Drogba joined the English League side Chelsea FC, in a record breaking transfer of £24 million. He featured regularly and was one of the top forwards and scorers in the clubs history. Amongst other honours, he won the league title with Chelsea three times, BBC's African Footballer of the Year in 2009, Confederation of African Football (CAF), African Player of the Year in 2006 and 2009, and made more than 80 appearances for the Ivorian national team. His charitable foundation, the Didier Drogba Foundation, has involved him in charity work in African, and in 2007, he was appointed a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Drogba is the first African player to score over 100 goals in the Premiership.

Peter Osaze Odemwingie

Peter was born on July 15 1981, in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, in the former Soviet Union. His father who is Nigerian, and his mother a Tatar from Uzbekistan, are both medical doctors. Peter spent his formative years in Russia playing at the CSKA Moscow Academy. The collapse of the Soviet Union resulted in Peter’s parents going back to Nigeria, where he started his professional football with Bendel Insurance, a Nigerian Premiership side. He later played in Belgium, France and Russia before joining West Bromwich Albion in 2010.

As a prolific scorer, Peter has a knack for scoring not just goals, but important goals. He has led the West Bromwich attacking machinery to win some very important games. His hat trick against local rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers was the highlight of the season for most Albion fans. Peter opted to play for Nigeria even though he was elegible to play for Russia or Uzbekistan. He has since made 54 appearances.

Kolo Habib Touré

Born on 19th March 1981 in Bouake, Cote d’Ivoire, Kolo comes from a family of highly talented footballers. One of his younger brothers, Yaya, plays alongside him in Manchester City, while his other brother, Ibrahim, plays professionally with the Egyptian side Makassa. Kolo joined the English League from the Ivorian first division side ASEC Mimosas in 2002. His transfer from ASEC to Arsenal was meager £150,000. His seven years at Arsenal saw him become one of the fans favorites and helped the team win the Premiership in 2003.

In July of 2009, Kolo transferred to Manchester City for a fee of £16 million. Again his steadfastness in defense helped Manchester City to become one of the top four teams in the English League. He captained the team in the 2009/2010 season. Kolo has played for his native Cote D’Ivoire since 2000. He played in 2006 and 2010 FIFA World Cup Competitions.

Yakubu Ayegbeni

Yakubu first joined the English League on loan from the Israeli team, Haifa, and then made the loan permanent in a transfer of £4 million. In his two seasons at Portsmouth he scored 29 goals making him the most prolific scorer in the Premier League. His last goal for Portsmouth, against Bolton Wanderers in a 1-1 draw during the 2004/2005 season prevented Portsmouth from being relegated that year. He repeated his feats at Portsmouth, by becoming one of Everton’s highest scorers in a season. In January 2011, he was loaned to Leicester City. This loan was short lived with him transferring to Premiership team Blackburn Rovers in August 2011. Yakubu made the move to China after Blackburn was relegated to the Championship in July 2012. Yakubu is the fifth player in history to score hat tricks in the Premiership with three different teams.

David Obua

David, a midfielder who sometimes plays as a striker, was born in the Ugandan capital city of Kampala on April 10, 1984. In 2003, after playing in Uganda, Mauritius and in the US where he attended college, David began his senior career with Express FC, the oldest premier football club in Uganda. Two years later, he transferred to Kaizer Chiefs, a South African premier side. He won the South African Footballer of the Year in 2006 and helped his team win the South Africa Premiership League that same year. In 2008, David joined “Heart of Midlothian” in the Scottish Premiership League.

David comes from a very athletic family. His father played for the Cranes, the Ugandan national side. His brother also plays for the national team. One of his uncles was also a world record breaking Olympian during the 1972 Olympics Games held in Munich. David has played for the Cranes more than 25 times and currently plays in Scotland

Christopher Samba

Samba, who was born in Creteil, France on 28th March 1984, joined English side Blackburn Rovers as a defender from Hertha Berlin, a German Bundesliga side for less than £500,000. At the beginning of the 2010/2011 season he was made captain of Blackburn Rovers. A desire to play for a top team led Samba to request a transfer which was initially denied by Blackburn. On 24th February 2012, a transfer deal of £12 million was approved allowing him to join to a little known Russian side called Anzhi Makhachkala. Samba played about 161 games with Blackburn Rovers before his departure.

Samba also holds Congolese nationality and has played for the Congo national team making 26 appearances, and has been celebrated by the national team as one of their finest defencders. Samba nearly quit the game due to a fracture he sustained in his fibula at the age of 19 years. He is yet to win any major trophy at the club or national level.

Sheyi Emmanuel Adebayor

Born in Lome, Togo, on February 26th 1984, Adebayor’s entry into the English Premier League began on 13 January 2006, when he signed for Arsenal. During his three years with Arsenal, he formed part of the potent attack machinery of the team. In July of 2009, he transferred to Manchester City for a fee believed to be about £25 million. Adebayor was loaned to Real Madrid for a few months on 25 January 2011 and then to Tottenham Hotspurs on August 25th for one year, who then gave him a permanent signing in August 2012.

While playing with Manchester City, he became one of only six players in the history of the league to score for a club in four consecutive matches. He also holds the record of being the first player for Manchester City to score a hat trick in a European Championship game.

Victor Wanyama

Wanyama was born in Nairobi, Kenya. He was part of a successful High School team. Upon leaving High School he continued to play football until signing for Kenyan Premier League club Nairobi City Stars, and AFC Leopards. In 2007 he joined Swedish club, Helsingborg. He later joined Beerschot AC, in the Belgian Pro League, on a four-year contract in the summer of 2008 following a successful trial.

On 9 July 2011, Wanyama officially completed a £900,000 move to Celtic, who had failed to sign him a year earlier. On joining Celtic, he became the first player to wear the number 67 jersey, and said he chose it to show his appreciation for the clubs history; in honour of the Lisbon Lions, Celtic's 1967 European Cup Final winning team.

Wanyama quickly became a fans favourite at Celtic due to his consistency, with fans often singing his name during Celtic games. He is also a full Kenyan international and currently has 15 international caps.