The next destination of our alphabetical world tour is Cameroon. Of the most successful African footballing nations, Cameroon are five-time Champions of Africa. According to the Premier League website, 30 players have represented Cameroon in the Premier League, the first of whom was…
First Players – Rigobert Song/Marc-Vivien Foé (Liverpool, West Ham; 1999-2002/Manchester City; 1999-2000, 2002-03)
Making their debuts on the very same day, in the very same minute, Rigobert Song and Marc-Vivien Foé jointly hold the honour of being the first Cameroonians to appear in the Premier League. January 31st, 1999 was the day, both players starting their first matches for their new clubs after signing in the January window.
Song spent one year with Liverpool before joining West Ham, while Foé was at West Ham for a year, later returning to England on loan to Manchester City in 2002.
Rigobert is the uncle of namesake and fellow Premier League Cameroonian Alex Song. Foé tragically died in 2003 after collapsing during a game at the 2003 Confederations Cup, where they were captained by Rigobert Song. Manchester City retired their squad number 23 in Foé’s memory.
Most Appearances: Alex Song – 190 (Arsenal, West Ham; 2005-12, 2014-16)
Following in his uncle’s footsteps, Alex Song joined Arsenal in 2005 and went on to make the most Premier League appearances of any Cameroonian to date.
Alex Song spent seven years with the Gunners after initially joining on loan. Though he departed for Barcelona in 2012, he returned to England between 2014 and 2016, on loan at West Ham.
Top scorer: Joseph-Désiré Job – 16 (Middlesbrough; 2000-06)
With 16 league goals over six years at Middlesbrough, forward Joseph-Désiré Job has scored more Premier League goals than any other Cameroonian to date.
During his time at the Riverside, Job helped Boro win the 2004 League Cup, scoring the opener in a 2-1 win over Bolton.
Current Players
Just two Cameroonians have appeared in the 2019/20 Premier League season. Liverpool defender Joël Matip began the season strongly before suffering an injury, while Gaëtan Bong appeared sporadically for Brighton before joining Nottingham Forest on loan in January.
Trivia
- Two Cameroonians have won the Premier League – Geremi and Lauren.
- Cameroon have reached seven World Cup Finals tournaments, the most of any African nation.
- The two most capped players in the history of the Cameroon national team have both played in the Premier League – Rigobert Song (137) and Samuel Eto’o (118).
