Out of Africa: The Exodus of Elite African Football Talent to Europe

The squad rosters of the participating teams at recent editions of the biennial African Cup of Nations reveals that the majority of Africa's elite football players ply their trade in Europe and that this is a trend that is increasing year by year. For example, at the 2000 tournament cohosted by Ghana and Nigeria, just over 50 percent of the players were signed to a European club. For the 2002 competition in Mali, this figure had increased to 66 percent and for the 2004 edition in Tunisia it stood at 67 percent. Although the exodus of Africa's football talent to Europe has accelerated significantly since the early 1990s, it is important to recognize that this process has long historical roots. This article examines the changing patterns in the transit of African footballers to Europe and demonstrates the ways in which these patterns have been underpinned by broader developments within the political economy of world football.