According to a new report, Nigeria has a staggering 339 footballers playing abroad, with 58 of those players moving outside the country since 2017. Here are the 15 African nations with the most players in foreign leagues!
The CIES Football Observatory released a report earlier this month showing the 80 football associations with the most footballers playing outside of their home countries across 135 leagues worldwide.
Scroll through the gallery above to see 15 African nations with the most players in foreign leagues, according to CIES Football Observatory
15 African nations were listed, with Nigeria being top of the continental pile with 339, having seen 58 of its players make the move to ply their trade outside their borders since 2017.
2021 Africa Cup of Nations champions Senegal has 192 professionals in overseas leagues, while Ghana – who have 293 footballers playing abroad – has the most exports in the past five years, with 68 players making the switch from their homeland to another country during this period.
Perhaps surprisingly, Afcon 2021 runners-up Egypt do not feature among the top 15, while their north African neighbours Algeria and Morocco have 55 and 47 players, respectively, who are based outside of their local top flights.
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The report also shows that South Africa has only 28 players across the 135 leagues, seeing a decrease of three in the past five years.
Burkina Faso, DR Congo, and Bafana Bafana have the same amount of stars plying their trade abroad, with Zambia just below them in 15th spot.
As for the countries with the most players plying their careers abroad, Brazil lead the way with an astonishing 1 219 footballers playing in foreign leagues, followed by France (978) and Argentina (815).
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