This Sunday, May 28th, the UNFP (National Union of Professional Footballers) Trophies ceremony will honor the best players in the French Championship. As of this year, the Ivorian Seko Fofana continues to be Africa’s slim hope of winning the title of Best L1 player.
This season, the French Ligue 1 championship has no less than 120 African players. However, in the lot, there will probably be no players rewarded this year during the UNFP Trophies. In any case in the most prestigious category: The best player in Ligue 1. The Ivorian Séko Fofana, nominated for this award, will have a hard time facing his competitors, Jonathan David (Lille / Canada), Lois Openda (Lens / Belgium ), and, above all, Lionel Messi (PSG / Argentina) and Kylian Mbappé (PSG / France).
The Best Africans do not Play in France
The trophy rarely smiles on African players, yet historically numerous in the elite of French football. Since its creation in 1994, only three African players have won the title of Best Player: Ali Benarbia (Algeria, 1999), Didier Drogba (Côte d’Ivoire, 2004), and Michael Essien (Ghana, 2005).
Why is the best L1 player rarely African? Probably because the very best in Africa play outside the French Championship. The Algerian Riyad Mahrez, the Egyptian Mohamed Salah, and the Senegalese Sadio Mané, the last players awarded the title of African Player of the Year, would certainly have won the French trophy lately if they were playing in France. Just like the Nigerian Victor Osimhen, today’s top scorer in the Italian championship (23 goals) but who was only a great promise when he passed through Lille three years ago.
Niang, Gervinho Did not Go Far
The other barrier for Africans is called PSG. Indeed, since the arrival of the Qataris in the club of the capital, the Parisian players monopolize the rewards of the UNFP. Eight of the last ten best Ligue 1 players are from Paris. Only the Belgian Eden Hazard (2012) and the Frenchman Alexandre Lacazette (2015) were able to disrupt the reign of the Parisians. Some Africans have come close like Mamadou Niang appointed in 2010, but who could not get ahead of the Argentinian from Lyon Lisandro Lopez, despite the title of champion of France with OM. The Ivorian Gervinho would certainly have won it in 2011 if it hadn’t been for the crack of Eden Hazard at the same time.