Football is the No.1 sport in Africa without a doubt and there are also many excellent footballers on this continent. Among those superstars, who are the best? 385,836 AFers have voted for their all-time African XI, and here are the results:
Goalkeeper:
Vincent Enyeyama (41% of the votes)
Enyeyama was a member of the Nigerian national team from 2002 until October 2015, serving as its captain from 2013 until his retirement from international football. With 101 caps, he is Nigeria’s most capped player of all time.
Defenders:
Medhi Benatia (11.2% of the votes)
Born and raised in France, Benatia represents his father’s Morocco at international level. He made his international debut for them in 2008 and represented the nation at three Africa Cup of Nations tournaments, totalling over 50 caps.
Kolo Toure (17.1% of the votes)
Kolo Toure is the second-most capped player for the Ivory Coast, with 120 appearances from 2000 to 2015. He represented the team at the 2006, 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cup tournaments.
Kalidou Koulibaly (13.1% of the votes)
Koulibaly made his senior debut with Senegal in 2015 and was a member of the Senegal squad that took part at the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations. He joined Italian side Napoli in 2014.
Rigobert Song (11% of the votes)
Rigobert Song was a member of the Cameroon national team between 1993 and 2010. He played at a record eight Africa Cup of Nations tournaments and served as the captain in five and holds the record of most consecutive games played in the tournament with 35 first team games.
Midfielders:
Michael Essien (17.4% of the votes)
Essien has been capped for the Ghana national team more than 50 times. He has often been touted as a box-to-box midfielder for his ability to exert energy in supporting both offensive and defensive play, and for his powerful and tough tackling playing style, which has earned him the nickname “The Bison.
Yaya Toure (28.1% of the votes)
Yaya Toure played for and captained the Ivory Coast national team. He has spent the majority of his career as a box-to-box midfielder for club and country, where he has been regarded as one of the world’s best players in his position.
Jay-Jay Okocha (21.8% of the votes)
Okocha is a quick and skillful playmaker, who is widely regarded as the best Nigerian player of his generation and one of the greatest African players of all time.
Forwards:
Samuel Eto’o (25.8% of the votes)
Eto’o is a Cameroonian footballer. He is the most decorated African player of all time, having won the African Player of the Year award a record four times: in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2010. He came third for FIFA World Player of the Year in 2005, and was twice named in the FIFA World XI: in 2005 and 2006.
Didier Drogba (25.9% of the votes)
Drogba is the all-time top scorer and former captain of the Ivory Coast national team. He is best known for his career at Chelsea, for whom he has scored more goals than any other foreign player and is currently the club’s fourth highest goal scorer of all time. He has been named African Footballer of the Year twice, winning the accolade in 2006 and 2009.
George Weah (16.5% of the votes)
Widely regarded as one of the greatest African players of all time, in 1995, Weah was named FIFA World Player of the Year and won the Ballon d’Or, becoming the first and to date only African player to win these awards. In 1989, 1994 and 1995, he was also named the African Footballer of the Year, and in 1996, he was named African Player of the Century
