Kenya Football .:. Story - Kenya Missing Out On Africa Soccer Elite List

Kenya missing out on Africa soccer Elite list - kenyafootball.com image

It is apparent that Kenya and East Africa at large has done little to produce high caliber players notable across the continent in the last 5 decades.

That’s according to a poll on Confederation Africaine De Football (CAF) official website in the last quarter of last year.

However Kenyan greats Peter Dawo and Tobias Ochola got the nod of recognition for their exploits in the 80’s. Another two players from Uganda Polly (Philip) Ouma and Majid Musisi from Uganda were also considered. The four are the only representatives from East Africa.

Peter Dawo will be remembered to have led the then mighty Gor Mahia to the 1987 Mandela Cup with his contribution of 9 headers while Ochola is the unforgotten sturdy Kenyan defender in his era.

Uganda’s Ouma on his part was the leading scorer in the Cup of Nations in 1978 though Uganda finished as runners up. Musisi was a rampant scorer for Uganda’s Sports Club Villa in the early 90s before French side Rennes came snapping for him.

Initial voting selected to select Africa’s top 50 players across the categories; 1957 – 1970, 1970 – 1980, 1980 – 1990 and 1991 – 2006 closed on 15th November 06.

The 200 short listed players who performed significantly on continental level was made on basis of national, regional and continental performance as well as FIFA World Cups and Olympic tournaments.

The final list of 50 in what will be considered Africa’s Elite 50 will be published of CAF’s official site by Feb 8th 06.

According CAF’s website, the award is part of the activities to commemorate CAF’s golden jubilee is it marks its foundation in Khartoum in 1957.

The list of players in the 1991-2006 includes all the usual African big wigs including Ghana’s Michael Essien, Cote D’Ivoire’s Didier Drogba, Cameroon’s Samuel Etoo, Liberia George Weah, Nigeria’s JJ Okocha, Senegal’s El Hadji Diouf, South Africa’s Benni McCarthy to name but a few.

Below is the full list of the top 200 (slightly over)

1957 - 1970

Polly OUMA (Uganda)
Lahcène LALMAS (Algeria)
Omar BETROUNI (Algeria)
Rachid MEKHLOUFI (Algeria)
Frédéric N’DOUMBE (Cameroon)
Gabriel ABOSSOLO (Cameroon)
Emmanuel KOUM (Cameroon)
Charles LEA (Cameroon)
Samuel MBAPPE LEPPE (Cameroon)
Jean Manga ONGUENE (Cameroon)
Maxime MATSIMA (Congo)
Jean-Michel M’BONO (Congo)
Joseph BLEZIRI (C.Ivoire)
Ernest KALLET BIALLY (C.Ivoire)
Eustache MANGLE (C.Ivoire)
Laurent POKOU (C.Ivoire)
Ali ABUGREISHA (Egypt)
Rafaat ATEYA (Egypt)
Ad-DIBA (Egypt)
Hassan EL CHAZLI (Egypt)
Rifaat El FANAGUILI (Egypt)
Mahmoud El GOHARY (Egypt)
Saleh SELIM (Egypt)
Luciano VASSALO (Ethiopia)
Menguistu WORKU (Ethiopia)
Edward AGGREY FINN (Ghana)
Cecil Jones ATTUQUAYEFIO (Ghana)
Malick JABIR (Ghana)
Nana Osei KOFI (Ghana)
Robert MENSAH (Ghana)
Wilberforce MFUM (Ghana)
Ibrahim SUNDAY (Ghana)
Baba YARA (Ghana)
Maxime CAMARA (Guinea)
Ibrahima KEITA Petit SORY(Guinea)
Ali Badara KEITA KOLEV (Guinea)
Salif KEITA (Mali)
Driss BAMOUS (Morocco)
Allal BEN KASSOU (Morocco)
Hassan AKESBI (Morocco)
Abderrahmane MAHJOUB (Morocco)
Yatma DIOP (Senegal)
Louis GOMIS (Senegal)
Ali GAGARINE (Sudan)
Siddiq MANZUL (Sudan)
Sadok Sassi ATTOUGA (Tunisia)
Abdelmajid CHETALi (Tunisia)
Nourredine DIWA (Tunisia)
Robert KAZADI (Zaïre)
Mafu KIBONGE (Zaïre)
Raoul KIDUMU (Zaïre)
Kalala MUKENDI (Zaïre)

1970 – 1980

Omar BETROUNI (Algeria)
Miloud HADEFI (Algeria)
Ibrahim AOUDOU (Cameroon)
Jean MANGA-ONGUENÉ (Cameroon)
Roger MILLA (Cameroon)
Thomas N´KONO (Cameroon)
Paul NLEND (Cameroon)
Jean-Pierre TOKOTO (Cameroun)
Bahamboula MBEMBA Tostao (Congo)
Jean-Noël MINGA « Pépé » (Congo)
Paul MOUKILA (Congo)
François M´PELÉ (Congo)
Jacques NDOMBA Géomètre (Congo)
AlphonseYANGHAT (Congo)
Pascal MIEZAN (C.Ivoire)
Moustapha ABDOU (Egypt)
Ali ABUGREISHA (Egypt)
Farouk GAAFAR (Egypt)
Mahmoud AL KHATIB (Egypt)
Hani MOUSTAFA (Egypt)
Hassan SHEHATA (Egypt)
Opoku AFRIYIE (Ghana)
Adolf ARMAH (Ghana)
Joseph CARR (Ghana)
Malik JABIR (Ghana)
Mohamed POLO (Ghana)
Karim Abdul RAZAK (Ghana)
Kerfalla BANGOURA (Guinea)
Papa CAMARA (Guinea)
N´JOLEA (Guinea)
Chérif SOULEYMANE (Guinea)
Bangally SYLLA (Guinea)
Cheikh Fantamay KEITA (Mali)
Salif KEITA (Mali)
Abdelmajid DOLMY (Morroco)
Ahmed FARAS (Morroco)
Mustapha YAGHCHA (Morroco)
Christian CHUKWU (Nigeria)
Muda LAWAL (Nigeria)
Segun ODEGBAMI (Nigeria)
Felix OWOLABI (Nigeria)
Philip OMONDI (Uganda)
Christophe SAGNA (Senegal)
Abdeil Moneim H. «SHATTA»(Sudan)
Ali GAGARINE (Sudan)
Nasr Eldeen ABBAS «JASKA» ( Sudan)
Edmond APETI (Togo)
Tommy SYLVESTRE (Togo)
Tarak DHIAB (Tunisia)
Temime LAHZAMI (Tunisia)
Tshimenu BWANGA (Zaïre)
Etepe KAKOKO (Zaïre)
Mafu KIBONGE (Zaïre)
Boba LOBILO (Zaïre)
Mabwene MANA (Zaïre)
Adelar MAYANGA (Zaïre)
Kalala MUKENDI (Zaïre)
Richard CHAMA (Zambia)
Godfrey CHITALU (Zambia)
Alex CHOLA (Zambia)
Obi KAPITA (Zambia)

1980 – 1990

Peter DAWO (Kenya)
Tobias OCHOLA (Kenya)
Salah ASSAD (Algeria)
Lakhdar BELLOUMI (Algeria)
Mustapha DAHLEB (Algeria)
Ali FERGANI (Algeria)
Rabah MADJER (Algeria)
Théophile ABEGA (Cameroon)
Joseph Antoine BELL (Cameroon)
Emmanuel KUNDÉ (Cameroon)
Roger MILLA (Cameroon)
Thomas N´KONO (Cameroon)
François OMAN-BIYIK (Cameroon)
Stephen TATAW (Cameroon)
Abdoulaye TRAORE (C.Ivoire)
Youssouf FOFANA (C.Ivoire)
Magdi ABDELGHANI (Egypt)
Taher ABOU ZEID (Egypt)
Mahmoud AL-KHATIB (Egypt)
Hossam HASSAN (Egypt)
Ahmed SHOUBEIR (Egypt)
Ibrahim YOUSSEF (Egypt)
Albert ASASE (Ghana)
Opoku N´TI (Ghana)
Abedi PELE (Ghana)
George WEAH (Liberia)
Clifton MSIYA (Malawi)
Aziz BOUDERBALA (Morocco)
Mostfha EL BIYAZ (Morocco)
Mustapha HADDAOUI (Morocco)
Mohammed TIMOUMI (Morocco)
Badou ZAKI (Morocco)
Stephen KESHI (Nigeria)
Henry NWOSU (Nigeria)
Segun ODEGBAMI (Nigeria)
Samuel OKWARAJI (Nigeria)
Peter RUFAI (Nigeria)
Rashidi YEKINI (Nigeria)
Jules-François BOCANDÉ (Senegal)
Boubacar SARR (Senegal)
Cheikh SECK (Senegal)
Thierno YOUM (Senegal)
Rafiou MOUTAIROU (Togo)
Eugène KABONGO (Zaïre)
Wa Mbati MOBATI (Zaïre)
Kalusha BWALYA (Zambia)
Efford CHABALA (Zambia)
Peter KAUMBA (Zambia)

1990 – 2006

Majid MUSISI (Uganda)
Benedict McCarthy (South Africa)
Mark FISH (South Africa)
Lucas RADEBE (South Africa)
Chérif EL-OUAZANI (Algeria)
Rabah MADJER (Algeria)
Fabrice MAIECO AKWA (Angola)
Joseph Antoine BELL (Cameroon)
Samuel ETO’O (Cameroon)
Marc-Vivien FOE (Cameroon)
Patrick MBOMA (Cameroon)
Roger MILLA (Cameroon)
François OMAN-BIYIK (Cameroon)
Rigobert SONG (Cameroon)
Didier DROGBA (C.Ivoire)
Youssouf FOFANA (C.Ivoire)
Alain GOUAMENE (C.Ivoire)
Serge-Alain MAGUY (C.Ivoire)
Joël TIEHI (C.Ivoire)
Abdoulaye TRAORÉ (C.Ivoire)
Ahmed HASSAN (Egypt)
Hossam HASSAN (Egypt)
Ahmed 'Mido' HOSSAM (Egypt)
Hany RAMZY (Egypt)
Ahmed SHOUBEIR (Egypt)
Abedi AYEW PELÉ (Ghana)
Michaël ESSIEN (Ghana)
Nii LAMPTEY (Ghana)
Samuel OSEI KUFFOUR (Ghana)
Anthony YEBOAH (Ghana)
George WEAH (Liberia)
Mustafa HADJI (Morocco)
Noureddine NAYBET (Morocco)
Julius AGHAHOWA (Nigeria)
Daniel AMOKACHI (Nigeria)
Emmanuel AMUNIKE (Nigeria)
Victor IKPEBA (Nigeria)
Nwankwo Kanu (Nigeria)
Augustine OKOCHA (Nigeria)
Sunday OLISEH (Nigeria)
Taribo WEST (Nigeria)
Rashidi YEKINI (Nigeria)
Shabani NONDA (RD Congo)
Henri CAMARA (Senegal)
Ferdinand COLY (Senegal)
Pape Bouba DIOP (Senegal)
El-Hadji DIOUF (Senegal)
Khalilou FADIGA (Senegal)
Roger MENDY (Senegal)
Tony SILVA (Senegal)
Mohamed KALLON (Sierra Leone)
Japhet N’DORAM (Tchad)
Khaled BADRA (Tunisia)
Zoubeir Baya (Tunisia)
Chokri EL OUAER (Tunisia)
Faouzi ROUISSI (Tunisia)
Hatem TRABELSI (Tunisia)
Kalusha BWALYA (Zambia)
Kenneth MALITOLI (Zambia)
Bruce GROBELAAR (Zimbabwe)
Peter NDLOVU (Zimbabwe)