Why are there so few African players in the WSL?

BBC Sport women’s football news reporterPublished13 minutes agoCommentsPlenty of talent was on show during the Women's Africa Cup of Nations this month - but why do so few players from the continent play for clubs in England?

The Women's Super League is widely regarded as one of the best leagues in the world and Europe's top talent is flooding in.

Two-time Ballon d'Or winner Alexia Putellas joined London City Lionesses this summer - the latest figure from Spain's World Cup-winning squad to move to the WSL.

It follows past high-profile moves from foreign players, including Australia captain Sam Kerr who made 158 appearances for Chelsea before joining Gotham.

Some of the United States' biggest stars are in the WSL too, including Chelsea duo Alyssa Thompson and Naomi Girma, Arsenal's Emily Fox and Manchester City's Sam Coffey.

There has also been an influx of Asian talent in recent seasons, with Japan captain Yui Hasegawa becoming one of the WSL's best players at Manchester City.

BBC Sport explores why the WSL has just four African players - Chiamaka Nnadozie (Brighton and Nigeria), Aisha Masaka (Brighton and Tanzania), Rofiat Imuran (London City Lionesses and Nigeria) and Ines Belloumou (West Ham and Algeria).

Why Michaely Bihina is the keeper making waves at Wafcon

National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) clubs in America have shown huge interest, spending big money on some of the continent's best players.

Zambia forward Racheal Kundananji became the most expensive women's footballer at the time in 2024 when she joined Bay FC from Madrid CFF for £685,000.

Her compatriot Barbra Banda, who plays for Orlando Pride, was voted the BBC Women's Footballer of the Year in the same year.

Cameroon's Wafcon player of the tournament Monique Ngock is at Washington Spirit, where six African international players currently reside.

Temwa Chawinga won the NWSL Golden Boot and Most Valuable Player awards in her first two seasons with Kansas City Current.

Her sister, Malawi captain Tabitha Chawinga, plays for European giants Lyon and helped her country reach the final of Wafcon last week, where they lost to Cameroon.

Michaely Bihina, who was a standout performer in the tournament for Cameroon, plays for Benfica.

Nnadozie, who notably became the first African goalkeeper to be shortlisted for the Women's Ballon d'Or award, joined Brighton last year. The Seagulls goalkeeper ended her season with an FA Cup final appearance at Wembley against WSL champions Manchester City.

A major barrier for WSL clubs hoping to sign African talent is the Governing Body Endorsement (GBE) criteria set out in the league's registration rules.

Foreign players must earn a minimum number of points in five categories to be eligible for a GBE visa.

The number of caps they have for their national team, appearances in the Women's Champions League and the ranking of their former clubs play a part.

WSL sides also have to compete with the wages and transfer fees being offered by NWSL clubs, who are targeting the best African footballers.

They have to use resources for scouting which, at the moment, is prioritised across Europe.

Another major issue is the lack of coverage given to the domestic game in Africa, as well as issues around Wafcon.

There was confusion in this edition when the Confederation of African Football (CAF) named Channel 4 as the UK broadcast partner, but no matches were shown live in the opening round as an agreement had not been formally reached.

The tournament had also been postponed just 12 days before it was set to kick off in Morocco, eventually taking place three months later.

Switzerland captain Lia Walti, who signed for Brighton this summer, told BBC Sport that, globally, coverage of women's football has room for improvement.

"I think you have to bring the game to the people. You kind of have to force people to watch it. I felt that was how it maybe started in England," she said.

"In a lot of other countries I think they have bad coverage. It's not shown at all, or if it's shown, from where they film the game [makes it look] really poor.

"It affects the way you watch a game. You don't really see the speed, the tactics or anything and you don't enjoy watching the game."

Tabitha Chawinga believed the Malawi side put their nation on the map and showed their quality.

Speaking to BBC's World Service following their final defeat by Cameroon, the Malawi captain said: "It's really the best. No-one gave Malawi a chance to be in the finals, no-one gave Cameroon a chance to be in the finals.

"But as you can see, we watched fantastic football. There was amazing football from both sides."

Nigeria goalkeeper Nnadozie paved the way in the WSL last year with her move to Brighton.

She told BBC Sport in October her Ballon d'Or nomination made a "big impact" in Africa and put the spotlight on some of the continent's best talent.

"We have so many good players and they just need the opportunity to show what they can really do," she said.

"Very soon, we will have more numbers [in the Ballon d'Or nominations] from Africa. Trust me, there are so many good talents from Africa.

"Some players have had the opportunity to come to Europe but some have stayed back home. I hope in the future, bigger competitions will come to Africa.

"The Under-17s World Cup is in Morocco. This is big evidence that they are doing a lot of great jobs over there. It is just a matter of time.

"Women's football is rising and Africa shouldn't be left behind."

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