Heroes participating in the competition
A list of all the African heroes that will be participating in the penatly shootout of the African edition of the Heroes Penalty Cup
A list of all the African heroes that will be participating in the penatly shootout of the African edition of the Heroes Penalty Cup
A former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He played 73 times for the Super Eagles, scoring 14 times, and played in 3 FIFA World Cups. He is regarded as one of the greatest football players from Africa. He started his career at Enugu Rangers in the Nigerian Professional Football League before moving to Borussia Neunkirchen in Germany’s 3rd division. He would play in the Bundesliga, Turkish Süper Lig, French Ligue 1, English Premier League, EFL Championship, and Qatar Stars League before his retirement in 2008.
Daniel Owefin Amokachi is a football manager and former professional player. As a player he was a forward who notably played in the Premier League for Everton and was part of their 1995 FA Cup winning team, he also played top flight football in both Belgium and Turkey with extended spells at Club Brugge and Beşiktaş. He also had a brief spells with Ranchers Bees, Colorado Rapids and Nasarawa United. He was capped 44 mes by Nigeria, scoring 13 goals. His spell in internaonal football saw him win the African Cup of Naons in 1994 and a gold medal at the 1996 Olympics. He was also present in his naons squads for 1994 FIFA World Cup and 1998 FIFA World Cup.
A former professional footballer who is currently the head coach of Nigeria Professional Football League club Enyimba F.C. As a player, he played as a right winger. After making a name for himself at Ajax in the Netherlands – being a leading figure in a team which won eight major tles, including the 1995 Champions League – he played several years in Spain with Real Betis, also having a brief spell in England before retiring. Finidi was an important member of the Nigerian national team during the 1990s, appearing in two World Cups
Diouf, is a former professional footballer who played as a winger or a forward, started his pro football career in France with Sochaux, Rennes and Lens. Diouf finalised a move to Liverpool prior to the 2002 FIFA World Cup. He has also played in England’s top flight for Bolton Wanderers, Sunderland and Blackburn Rovers before a stint in the Scotish Premier League with Rangers. In 2011, he joined Football League Championship side Doncaster Rovers. He then moved to Leeds United where he spent two seasons.
Henri Camara is a former professional footballer who played as a striker. Starng his career in the late 1990s, he went on to play professionally in France, Switzerland, Scotland, England, and Greece before rering in 2018. A full internaonal between 1999 and 2008, he won 99 caps for the Senegal naonal team and scored 29 goals. He represented his naon at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, where he scored two goals as Senegal reached the quarterfinals.
Khalilou is a former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Fadiga began his career at PSG in France, he was then transferred to fellow Parisian club, Red Star 93, before moving to Belgian club RFC Liège. He moved from FC Liège to Lommel, (now KVSK United). He played two seasons at Lommel before he was spied by Club Brugge. In September 2000, the midfielder returned to France when he signed for AJ Auxerre. He helped them win the 2002-03 Coupe de France, playing in the final as they defeated PSG.
Lucas Radebe is a former professional footballer who played as a centre back. He began playing in South Africa with Kaizer Chiefs, before transferring to Leeds United, where he played 256 matches for the Yorkshire side. During his spells at these clubs, he picked up the nicknames “Rhoo” and “The Chief”. He became captain of Leeds United and also of the South African naonal team, most notably at World Cup 2002. Nelson Mandela said of Radebe: “This is my hero.” He also captained Kaizer Chiefs during his me at Chiefs
A South African professional who most recently played as a midfielder for AmaZulu. Considered to be one of the most well known and decorated South African soccer players of his generation, he was the first player to make his international debut while still playing in the National First Division. At 90 caps, he is the second most capped player of the South African national team and played at 3 African Cup of Nations editions and the 2010 FIFA World Cup, where he scored the tournament’s first goal which was nominated for a FIFA Puskás Award.
Mark Fish is a retired South African footballer who played as a defender. Fish started his career playing for Arcadia Shepherds. In 1994 Fish was signed by Orlando Pirates. He then moved to Lazio . He moved to England after just one season at Lazio to become the highest paid player at Bolton Wanderers. Fish moved to Charlton Athletic November 2000. Fish is best remembered as being a crucial part of South Africa’s victorious naonal soccer squad when they won the 1996 African Cup of Natioons. He was named to the Team of the Tournament in both the 1996 and 1998 African Cup of Nations.
A former professional footballer who is the manager of the Cameroon national team. Song usually played as a centre-back but could also play at right-back. He played at a record 8 Africa Cup of Nations tournaments and served as captain in 5, and holds the record of most consecuve games played in the tournament with 35 first team games. He has won two CAF Africa Cup of Nations titles. With 137 appearances, Song also holds the record of the most capped player in the history of the Cameroon national team with played 4 World Cup appearances.
Patrick Mboma is a former professional footballer who played as a striker. During his career he played for Châteauroux, Paris Saint-Germain, Metz, Gamba Osaka, Cagliari, Parma, Sunderland, Al-Ihad, Tokyo Verdy and Vissel Kobe before rering on 16 May 2005. Mboma scored 33 goals in 57 matches for Cameroon. He played in the 1998 and 2002 World Cups, and also led Cameroon to the gold medal at the 2000 Olympics and victories at the 2000 and 2002 African Naons Cups. He was named African Footballer of the Year for his efforts in 2000.
Regarded as one of the best strikers in the world and African Player of the Year a record 4 times. Eto’o moved to Real Madrid before signing for Mallorca, then to Barcelona, winning La Liga 3 times, and UEFA Champions League twice. He signed with Inter Milan in 2009, played for Anzhi Makhachkala, Chelsea, Everton, Sampdoria and Antalyaspor. In 2015, he won the Golden Foot Award and the Gold Medal at the 2000 Olympics as well as the Africa Cup of Nations twice. He is the all-time leading scorer in the Africa Cup of Nations and for Cameroon.
A former professional footballer who last played as a defender for AFC United in the Swedish second-tier. Mensah is a product of the scouting system in Ghana that idenfies talented youngsters long before they enter any formal structures. A centre-half by choice, he is also adept at right-back, also captaining the team on occasions. His physique has earned him the moniker the “Rock of Gibraltar”. Considered a certainty to be named to Ghana’s squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, he spent the 2009–10 and 2010–11 seasons on loan at Sunderland.
A professional footballer and the former captain of the Ghana national team. Gyan began his career with Ghanaian Premier League club Liberty Professionals, then spent 3 seasons with Udinese via 2 seasons loan at Modena. In 2008, Gyan joined Rennes. In 2010, he joined Sunderland and Al Ain in 2011. He is Ghana’s all-time leading goalscorer. He played at the 2006, 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups and is the top African goalscorer with 6 goals. Gyan played for Ghana at the 2004 Summer Olympics and in 7 Africa Cup of Nations.
A former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He has represented at the youth, Olympic, and senior levels. He captained Ghana at their World Cup debut in 2006 and at the 2010 World Cup. Appiah began his career at local club Hearts of Oak in 1995, at 15 years of age. In 1997, he joined Italian Serie A side Udinese. Appiah was part of the Ghana squad which won the FIFA U-17 World Championship tournament in 1995 at age 14. The team beat Brazil in the final to lift the trophy.
Seydou Keïta, is a former footballer. A versatile midfielder, he operated as both a central or defensive midfielder. Keita most notably played for Lens (five seasons) and Barcelona (four), winning 14 titles with the latter club after signing in 2008. He started his youth career in Mali and his professional career with Marseille. His career would take him to clubs in France, Spain, China, Italy and Qatar. Keita represented Mali since the age of 18, appearing in seven Africa Cup of Nations tournaments and winning 102 caps. He also held a French passport.
A former professional footballer who played as a striker for several top-tier clubs in Europe, enjoying his greatest success with Sevilla. Kanouté was named the 2007 African Footballer of the Year. He began his career with Lyon in France before moving to West Ham United in 2000. After a spell at Tottenham Hotspur, Kanouté moved to Sevilla where he won two consecuve UEFA Cups in addition to various other European and domestic honours. He joined Beijing Goan in June 2012. His internaonal career ended in 2010 with a total of 38 caps and 23 goals.
Mohamed Lamine Sissoko (born 22 January 1985) is a former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. Born in France, he chose instead to play for the national side of his ancestral country, Mali. He appeared for his country in almost all African Cup of Naons qualifiers and tournaments since then. He also featured in FIFA World Cup qualifiers for both 2006 and 2010. Sissoko made 34 official appearances for Mali, and scored 2 goals. With Mali, he finished fourth and third in the 2004 and 2013 African Cup of Nations respectively.
Kolo Abib Touré is a former professional footballer who began his career as a defender with ASEC Mimosas. Touré moved to Arsenal in 2002. In 2009, he moved to Manchester City then Liverpool in 2013. He won the Scottish Premiership and League Cup with Celtic. Touré is the second-most capped player for the Ivory Coast, with 120 appearances from 2000 to 2015. He played at 3 FIFA World Cups and 7 Africa Cup of Nations between 2002 and 2015, helping them finish runner-up in 2006 and 2012 and winning in 2015.
An Ivorian professional footballer who plays as a forward and winger for Djibouan club Arta/Solar7. He previously played for Feyenoord and Chelsea where he won numerous honours, including the Premier League, the UEFA Champions League, 4 FA Cups and the League Cup. He moved on a free transfer in 2012 to Lille for 2 seasons before moving to Hertha BSC. He played in 2 FIFA World Cups, 6 Africa Cup of Nations tournaments and the 2008 Olympics. He was part of their teams that won the title in 2015 and came runners-up in 2012.
A former professional footballer who played as a right back. Formed at ASEC Mimosas, he moved to Europe to play for Belgium’s Beveren in 2002. He spent most of his career, from 2005 to 2011, with Arsenal, playing 214 games, including the 2006 UEFA Champions League Final. He later moved to Galatasaray where he played regularly and won 5 domestic honours in Turkey. Eboué made his international debut in 2004, eventually earning 79 caps by 2013. He was part of their squad at the 5 Africa Cup of Nations tournaments and two World Cups.
A Moroccan football coach and former player. He signed his first contract with AS Nancy then joined Sporng Lisbon and then Deporvo la Coruña, but it was with Coventry City he became well known. He joined Aston villa and later Espanyol. Hadji later played for Al Ain. In 2005, he signed with Saarbrücken. In August 2007, Hadji signed for Fola Esch. At the 1994 FIFA World Cup, Hadji played in all 3 group games for Morocco, he scored a great goal in a 2–2 draw with Norway in the 1998 FIFA World Cup and was named African Footballer.
Marouane Chamakh is a former professional footballer who played as a forward. In 2000, he signed with Bordeaux. He helped Bordeaux win the Coupe de la Ligue in 2007 and the league tle and league cup in 2008–09 season. In May 2010, Chamakh joined Premier League club Arsenal. Chamakh also became the first player in UEFA Champions League history to score in six consecuve games. He made his naonal team debut in July 2003 and played in three Africa Cup of Naons tournaments. In August 2010, he captained the naonal team for the first me.
Youssouf Hadji s a Moroccan former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He notably had three spells for French side AS Nancy, also serving as the team captain, making 378 appearances and scoring 95 goals for the club. At international level, he represented the Morocco national team earning 64 caps and scoring 16 goals.