Football is one of the most celebrated sports in the world.
Some of the greatest African footballers are still actively involved in sports.
African footballers exhibit talent both at home and abroad.
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Their legacy lives forever, even after they quit professional football.
Most footballers choose a career or pastime related to sports after they hang up their boots.
Greatest African footballers
African footballers are known to give back to society.
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This article contains 25greatest African footballers.
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1.
Eto’o has 4 African Player of the Year prizes to his name.
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He has dozens of attainments and notable career triumphs.
Samuel Etoo is arguably the best footballer to come out of Cameroon.
He is the best Cameroonian goal scorer and the greatest scorer in Cup of Nations ever.
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He had also served as a senator before he won the presidency.
The ex-footballer lifted the African Player of the Year award three times.
It is no surprise that his people love George Weah at home enough to trust him with the presidency.
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He was a UNICEF Goodwill ambassador in 1997 and focused on helping educate the poor.
Drogba was named African Player of the Year two times and made the top three eight times.
His most notable achievement was winning the 2012 Champions League.
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Highest scorers in Bafana history have set records that wow South Africans to date
4.
Roger Milla - Cameroon
Roger Milla was born on20th May 1952.
Roger Milla’s consistency is what makes him stand out amongst African footballers.
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He was one of the most recognized African players in the 1990s.
All three of Abedi Peles sons are playing professional football currently.
Even after being put down by illness and having a heart procedure, the Nigerian centre-forward came back.
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While playing for Ajax, he netted 25 goals in 52 matches.
Yaya Toure - Cote dIvoire
The most outstanding midfielder out of Cameroon and possibly in Africa is IvorianYaya Toure.
His vision and attacking skills is something football pundits always talk about.
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He has played for the Elephants at three World Cups.
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8.
Jay-Jay Okocha - Nigeria
Jay-Jay Okocha played football so well that people often mistook him for a Brazilian.
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One of the star’s exceptional skills was dribbling a whole side.
He was a first-team player in all clubs he played for.
He was once listed as one of the 125 most prominent footballers of all time by Brazilian star Pele.
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9.
His relationship with Jose Mourinho is admirable, a man he calls daddy.
He helped Egypt win the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations by scoring the winning goal.
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He also won the African Cup of Nations in 2006 with his countrys national team.
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11.
Sammy Kuffour - Ghana
Sammy Kuffour was born on 3rd September in Kumasi, Ghana.
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Sammy Kuffour is remembered for his intense display of grief following the 1999 Champions League loss against Manchester United.
He, however, compensated for the loss by emerging victorious against Valencia two years later.
Sammy Kuffour is one of the only three Ghanaian footballers to lift the world’s premier domestic club tournament.
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12.
Rabah Madjer - Algeria
Rabah Madjer is one of the greatest African players of the last century.
He is remembered for his goal for Portuguese giant FC Porto in the 1987 European Cup final game.
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Rabah has a record of nine significant trophies with FC Porto and netted in more than 150 goals.
The Algerian player was a force to reckon with in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
He was named player of the match in 1990 as Algeria won the Cup of Nations.
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Essam El-Hadary - Egypt
Essam El-Hadary is among the best African goalkeepers ever.
The four-times African Cup of Nations winner was born on 15th January 1973.
He has lifted eight league trophies with Al-Merreikh and Al-Ahly.
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He also represented Egypt for 22 years at AFCON.
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His influence as an Egyptian Golden Generation footballer was felt for years.
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The player was too good that one time Didier Drogba called him his most formidable rival ever.
He has 4 African Champions League titles to his name and several other trophies from around Africa.
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14.
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Emmanuel Adebayor - Togo
Togolese professional player was born on 26th February 1984.
The striker has played for significant clubs like Arsenal, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur, and Crystal Palace.
He was honoured with the African Footballer of the Year in 2008 while playing at Arsenal.
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In 2010, Adebayor retired from playing for his national team after being a victim of an unfortunate incident.
Adebayor is Togo’s all-time top goalscorer with 32 goals.
Lucas Radebe - South Africa
Lucas Radebe represented Bafana Bafana at the 1998 and 2002 World Cups.
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The player was so good in his art that he got recognition from Nelson Mandela.
Mandela described Radebe as his hero.
He was named Leeds’s Player of the Year in 1998.
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Despite not having any significant leagues under his name, he remains one of South Africas greats.
Hossam Hassan - Egypt
Hossam Hassan is regarded as one of the best players to come out of Egypt.
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Thomas N’Kono - Cameroon
Cameroonian goalkeeper Thomas N’Kono could not miss on the list of greatest African footballers.
He is among the top ten goalkeepers in Africa.
Throughout his career, Thomas has been named African Footballer of the Year two times.
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He was born on 20th July 1955 and was a first-team player at two World Cups for Cameroon.
For the longest time, he was associated with Espanyol, which he represented for about ten years.
He appeared in more than 300 official matches.
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Thomas has several domestic trophies and some continental club titles with Kpa-Kum.
Major awards he has won include CAF International Goal of the Year.
The former footballer is the only South African player to have ever won the UEFA Champions League.
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He currently works as a coach.
Ahmed Hassan - Egypt
Renown attacking midfielder Ahmed Hassan is ranked with the smoothest African playmakers of his time.
The two-time AFCON man of the match also won the Cup of Nations four-time with Egypt.
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He has 184 appearances for Egypt’s The Pharaohs and will probably not be bested soon.
Joe Kadenge - Kenya
Kenyan football legend Joe Kadenge is one of the finest the country has ever produced.
The now-deceased former player and coach started playing professional football in 1975.
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He is recorded as the only footballer to score the fastest ever goal in the Kenyan Premier League.
Joe saw Kenya win many regional tournaments throughout his career.
He passed on from a stroke in 2019.
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21.
Salah Assad - Algeria
Salah Assad was born on 10th June 1958.
He is among the best African footballers.
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His first major accomplishment was in 1981 when his team won the African Cup Winner’s Cup.
Salah Assad scored two goals at the FIFA World Cup in 1982 and 1986.
He is currently the top scorer for Algeria.
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22.
Doctor Khumalo - South Africa
Doctor Khumalo is one of the greatest South African footballer of all time.
He scored the only goal of the game in South Africas victory over Cameroon in 1992.
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He represented South Africa in the 1998 World Cup in France.
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Mahmoud Abbas - Kenya
Mahmoud Abbasis the best goalkeeper to have played for Kenyas national team.
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The football legend started playing for the national team while he was a teen.
At only 19 years old, Mahmoud has shown potential as one of the greatest Kenya has ever produced.
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He won significant local leagues and retired in 1990.
He died after a long illness in 2017.
Mohamed Zidan - Egypt
Egypt has never run short of world-class players.
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He started his professional career in 1999 while playing at AB.
This marked the highlight of his career.
Mohamed Zidan has won the AFCON Cup twice and the German League Cup once, in 2007.
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Christian Benteke - D.R Congo
Christian Benteke plays for the EPL club Crystal Palace.
Congo player has earned over 30 caps for Belgium since making his debut in 2010.
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Senegalese player Sadio Mane is crowned the current king of football in Africa.
He took the award for the Player of the Year in Egypt.
Sadio plays as a winger for Premier League club Liverpool.
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Who is the greatest African footballer of all time?
Samuel Etoois the greatest African footballers of all time.
He has won three Champions League titles with Barcelona, Nerazzurri, and Internazionale.
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He also won the World Cup in 2010.
Who is the greatest Nigerian footballer of all time?
Jay-Jay Okocha takes it all.
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The former attacking midfielder was a great juggler.
Special events like the FIFA World Cup or AFCON attract thousands of fans across the continent.
The greatest African footballers have attained their status by showing consistency and practising to perfect their skills.
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She holds a Degree in Purchasing and Procurement Management from Mount Kenya University.
Email: salmarashidabdul@gmail.com
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